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Showing results for:  “sirius xm merger”

Hanno Kaiser's antitrust primer

While we’re on the topic of antitrust, I thought I would take this opportunity to draw our readers’ attention to a nice series of posts over at Antitrust Review. Collectively these posts make up the beginnings of an excellent primer on antitrust economics, told in Hanno Kaiser’s inimitable manner. I don’t agree with all of ... Hanno Kaiser's antitrust primer

Decline of the Blogosphere

With the blogosphere in decline, we figure we have to either eat or be eaten. We prefer the former over the latter, so we’re mulling hostile takeover attempts of ideoblog, conglomerate and/or bainbridge. We’ve also implemented various anti-takeover defenses including a non-chewable deadhand poison pill and a ten-class staggered board.

Pennsylvania Changes Rules for Sovereign

I’ve blogged before about Soveriegn’s proposed acquisition of Community Bank and related stock issuance to Santander. Sovereign’s largest shareholder, Relational Investors, is against the deal and petitioned the NYSE to block it (see here). The NYSE declined. I applauded the NYSE for this decision (see here), largely because it enforced its rules as written and ... Pennsylvania Changes Rules for Sovereign

Directors' Duties Even in Solvent Firms

In the Ribstein & Alces paper mentioned below by Keith, Ribstein & Alces write: The problem with holding that directors have duties to the “corporation” is that the corporation is composed of contracts among claimants with varying and possibly conflicting interests in the firm’s wealth. In solvent firms this is not troubling. Serving the firm’s ... Directors' Duties Even in Solvent Firms

Paternalism and the iPod, Part II: The Behavioral Economics of Apple?

Dave Hoffman over at Concurring Opinions asks: “Is Apple Exploiting Consumer Irrationality?” Dave is worried that consumers’ continuing iPod purchases may be irrational in the face of evidence that many iPod’s fail within their one year warranty period or shortly after, and that this strategy might explain Apple’s “growing market strength.” How likely are consumer ... Paternalism and the iPod, Part II: The Behavioral Economics of Apple?

New antitrust blawg

It’s called Antitrust Review. It’s the result of a merger between the antitrust division of Law & Society Blog and (Anti-)Trust Me, both original members of our ultra-exclusive blogroll. Here’s what Hanno Kaiser, one of the blog’s founders, and a friend and former colleague of mine, says about the blog: Antitrust Review will feature news ... New antitrust blawg

Disney/Pixar Deal: $6 Billion for Lasseter

The Slate has an interesting take on the Disney/Pixar deal.  In an article entitled “The $6 Billion Man,” Edward Jay Epstein asserts that Disney is essentially paying $6 billion to obtain the services of John Lasseter, Pixar’s creative guru.  Lasseter’s salary last year was about $2.8 million, and the value of his Pixar shares and ... Disney/Pixar Deal: $6 Billion for Lasseter

Are Buyout Funds Appropriating Profits?

Today’s NYT has a sobering article entitled Public Companies, Singing the Blues. The article discusses a question raised by Daniel Loeb, a famous hedge fund manager, at a dinner of buyout kings in Davos, Switzerland (the site of the World Economic Forum). Loeb’s question: “Why can buyout firms take public companies private and make enormous ... Are Buyout Funds Appropriating Profits?

Disney/Pixar Deal and Omnicare

The Disney/Pixar deal is a hot topic in the blawgosphere (see, e.g., here, here, here and here), so I want to join in. I took a quick look at the transaction documents (they’re now available here on the SEC’s website) and noticed that Steve Jobs has executed a voting agreement (here) pursuant to which he ... Disney/Pixar Deal and Omnicare

Taking Maytag and Whirlpool to the cleaners

Christine blogs about the Whirlpool-Maytag merger and its antitrust problems. Law Blog has the story, as well. Both mention the American Antitrust Institute which opposes (vehemently) the merger. In fact, the AAI has never met a merger it didn’t find anticompetitive, so its opposition should be taken with a grain of salt. Then again, I’ve ... Taking Maytag and Whirlpool to the cleaners

The Bidding War for Guidant

As most are probably aware, the ongoing bidding war for medical device manufacturer Guidant (GDT) was ratcheted even higher last Tuesday when Boston Scientific (BSI) topped J&J’s most recent bid of $71 a share with an aggressive bid of $80 a share. Within nine hours of receiving BSI’s bid, GDT’s board declared it a “Superior ... The Bidding War for Guidant

An Antitrust Modernization Committee Update

For those of you who are not familiar with work of the Antitrust Modernization Committee, and I suspect that this includes most of our readers, the AMC was created by the Antitrust Modernization Committee Act of 2002, and is charged with the following tasks: (1) to examine whether the need exists to modernize the antitrust ... An Antitrust Modernization Committee Update