Update June 2009: The parties have abandoned the deal. In In the Matter of: CSL Limited and Cerberus-Plasma Holdings LLC, the FTC has officially moved to block blood plasma-derived therapeutics company SCL Ltd.’s proposed $3.1 billion acquisition of rival Talecris Biotherapeutics, alleging that this deal would have an anti-competitive effect through 1) consolidating the […]
Category Archives: Uncategorized
North Sea Shrimp Cartel Investigation
March 28, 2009 – 1:19 pm
On March 24-25, 2009, the EC inspected the premises of companies involved with North Sea shrimp and related products. The inspections occurred in several member states based on cartel concerns. Company names have yet to be released.
U.S. Supreme Court Rules Out Price Squeeze Claim
February 28, 2009 – 9:49 am
In an opinion authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a company with no antitrust duty-to-deal with a competitor cannot violate the antitrust laws by squeezing its wholesale and retail prices to such an extent that competitors are unable to earn a sufficient return at the retail level. The case involved […]
EC Raids Pharmaceutical Companies
December 30, 2008 – 2:04 pm
The European Commission has reportedly raided the offices of pharmaceutical companies suspected of breaching EU competition rules by operating a cartel or abusing market position. Without identifying the companies, the Commission said only that the inspections had taken place in “several” EU Member States. The raids took place ahead of the publication of a 400-page Commission report […]
General Tobacco Challenges 1998 Tobacco Settlement
November 7, 2008 – 12:57 pm
General Tobacco, a relatively small, recent entrant into the tobacco business has sued the states attorneys’ general and tobacco companies participating in the 1998 settlement, which calls for tobacco companies to make payments to states to offset health care costs attributable to smoking. General Tobacco argues that the agreement anticompetitively restricts competition from new entrants […]
FTC Investigates Musical Instrument Pricing
October 28, 2008 – 2:52 pm
The Wall Street Journal has reported that the FTC is investigating musical instrument manufacturers practices of setting minimum advertised prices. These agreements set a floor on the price that music retailers can advertise, though not the price at which they can sell. The investigation is of particular interest because of the Supreme Court’s recent decision […]
Class Action Filed Against Door & Hardware Manufacturers
October 9, 2008 – 2:09 pm
A contractor, Taj Construction, has filed a putative class action in the Western District of Texas against door and hardware manufacturers under Department of Justice criminal antitrust indictments. The defendants, Architectual Products Co., and El Paso Steel Doors and Frames (along with an executive from each company) were recently charged with engaging in a decade-plus long bid-rigging and […]
DOJ/EC & Manitowoc Settle Merger Dispute
October 9, 2008 – 1:53 pm
To resolve Department of Justice and European Commission antitrust concerns with its acquisition of British competitor Enodis, Manitowoc agreed to disvest Enodis’s U.S. ice making operations.
Payment Processing Tying Claim Survives Motion to Dismiss
October 2, 2008 – 11:48 am
A NJ Federal district court denied Chase Paymentech Solution’s motion to dismiss a claim alleging an illegal tying agreement between a payment’s processor and the supplier of point-of-sale payment equipment.
Potash Suppliers Sued for Fixing Prices
September 18, 2008 – 11:45 am
Minn-Chem Inc. has filed an antitrust suit in the District of Minnesota alleging that suppliers of the fertilizer potash, beginning in 2004, agreed to raise prices in a market of increasing supplies. The complaint alleges that potash suppliers improperly shared in formation on prices, capacity, volume, and demand as part of a coordinated program to allocate markets, […]