Showing results for: “sirius xm merger”
Are We Reinvigorated Yet?
Despite rumors, slogans, and “new” conventional wisdom to the contrary (See, e.g. here, here and the Obama campaign promise to “reinvigorate merger enforcement), it is apparently not the case that the current DOJ is not interested in enforcing the antitrust laws. Perhaps it never was. This interesting interview (HT: Danny Sokol) suggests that the DOJ ... Are We Reinvigorated Yet?
Antitrust under President Obama: "I will direct my administration to reinvigorate antitrust enforcement"
Danny Sokol makes some predictions about Post-Obama antitrust, and about my disappointment in what he perceives to be the likely direction of antitrust policy in the Obama administration: 1. increased challenges of mergers and monopolization cases, especially at DOJ 2. more consumer protection work at the FTC with a push to more expansive consumer rights ... Antitrust under President Obama: "I will direct my administration to reinvigorate antitrust enforcement"
Speaking of Resale Price Maintenance …
It looks like the FTC is interested in doing more than just investigating RPM (see Thom’s excellent post), as the agency just announced a series of public workshops on the question of how best to distinguish pro-competitive uses of RPM from those that raise competitive concerns. From the announcement: The FTC is requesting public comment ... Speaking of Resale Price Maintenance …
First Annual FTC Microeconomics Conference: November 6-7
I think conferences like this are an effective way to attract talented economists to work on interesting antitrust problems. I can envision a similar event from the Bureau of Competition or policy shops featuring academic research from law and economics scholars. Here’s the conference announcement: The Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Economics will host a ... First Annual FTC Microeconomics Conference: November 6-7
Reverse Payments Ripe for Cert?
The Federal Circuit came down on the side of rule of reason analysis, and no liability, in a reverse payment case in Cipro (HT: Antitrust Review and Patently-O): Since there was no basis for the district court to confidently predict that the Agreements at issue here would be found to be unlawful under a rule ... Reverse Payments Ripe for Cert?
Abuse of Plaintiff Win Rates as Evidence that Antitrust Law Is Too Lenient
I was recently reading Dean Chemerinsky (Irvine Law) on the Roberts Court at Age 3. One of Chemerinsky’s standard takes when he talks about the Roberts Court is that the Court’s pro-business stance is one of its defining characteristics. Readers of the blog will know that I’ve been critical of Chemerinsky for his superficial antitrust ... Abuse of Plaintiff Win Rates as Evidence that Antitrust Law Is Too Lenient
Citigroup, Wachovia, and Wells Fargo: Round Three
For those who have missed it, Citigroup announced almost two weeks ago an agreement in principle with Wachovia to acquire for $2.1 billion Wachovia’s retail banking operations. Four days later, Wells Fargo jumped the deal, announcing a merger agreement signed by both boards for Wells Fargo to acquire all of Wachovia. This violated an Exclusivity ... Citigroup, Wachovia, and Wells Fargo: Round Three
Commissioner Rosch v. Economics, Again
I’ve been critical of the Federal Trade Commission, and particularly Commissioner Rosch, for embracing what I think is a dangerously obsolete view of the role of economics in antitrust. First, it was the Section 2 Report response and before that, it was Commissioner Rosch’s observation that “any kind of economic analyses that require the use ... Commissioner Rosch v. Economics, Again
Exclusivity Agreements, the Bailout Act, and Section 126(c)
The Wachovia-Citigroup-Wells Fargo dance continues. Now, however, it seems to involve confusion about Section 126(c) of the newly adopted Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (“EESA”). Allow me to take a stab at clarifying. To bring everyone up to speed, last weekend, after Lehman was allowed to go belly-up and Washington Mutual was seized by the FDIC, ... Exclusivity Agreements, the Bailout Act, and Section 126(c)
Wachovia, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup – Score one for Citigroup!
Last last night, a New York judge issued an injunction tolling the termination of Wachovia’s Exclusivity Agreement with Citigroup. In addition, the judge set a show cause hearing date for next Friday to sort out the issue of whether Wachovia’s pending merger with Wells Fargo should be enjoined as a violation of Wachovia’s exclusivity agreement ... Wachovia, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup – Score one for Citigroup!
Hexion v. Huntsman: Vice Chancellor Lamb’s Must-Read Opinion For Deal Lawyers
On Monday night, Delaware Vice Chancellor Lamb issued an opinion in the epic Hexion v. Huntsman battle, ordering Hexion to perform its obligations under its 2007 agreement to acquire Huntsman. The opinion is well worth reading for deal lawyers – it offers a good tutorial on how private equity deals can fall apart, how merger ... Hexion v. Huntsman: Vice Chancellor Lamb’s Must-Read Opinion For Deal Lawyers
Coate on Unilateral Effects at the FTC
FTC economist Malcolm Coate has posted Unilateral Effects Under the Guidelines: Models, Merits and Merger Policy to SSRN. Here’s the abstract: This paper models FTC unilateral effects merger policy using a broad sample of 153 investigations undertaken between 1993 and 2005. Standard unilateral effects analysis proposes a range of models for competitive effects. A review ... Coate on Unilateral Effects at the FTC
