Showing archive for: “Mergers & Merger Enforcement”
Real lawyers read the footnotes, but cite them only when relevant: A response to Harold Feld on the FCC SpectrumCo Order
“Real lawyers read the footnotes!”—thus did Harold Feld chastise Geoff and Berin in a recent blog post about our CNET piece on the Verizon/SpectrumCo transaction. We argued, as did Commissioner Pai in his concurrence, that the FCC provided no legal basis for its claims of authority to review the Commercial Agreements that accompanied Verizon’s purchase ... Real lawyers read the footnotes, but cite them only when relevant: A response to Harold Feld on the FCC SpectrumCo Order
UMG-EMI Deal Is No Threat To Innovation In Music Distribution
Everyone loves to hate record labels. For years, copyright-bashers have ranted about the “Big Labels” trying to thwart new models for distributing music in terms that would make JFK assassination conspiracy theorists blush. Now they’ve turned their sites on the pending merger between Universal Music Group and EMI, insisting the deal would be bad for ... UMG-EMI Deal Is No Threat To Innovation In Music Distribution
Ginsburg & Wright on Dynamic Analysis and the Limits of Antitrust Institutions
Judge Douglas Ginsburg (D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals; NYU Law) and I have posted “Dynamic Antitrust and the Limits of Antitrust Institutions” to SSRN. Our article is forthcoming in Volume 78 (2) of the Antitrust Law Journal. We offer a cautionary note – from an institutional perspective – concerning the ever-increasing and influential calls for greater ... Ginsburg & Wright on Dynamic Analysis and the Limits of Antitrust Institutions
Simpson Thacher Adds FTC’s Matt Reilly
From Competition Policy International (via The Blog of Legal Times): Matt Reilly, former Assistant Director of the Federal Trade Commission, is joining Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Reilly will partner the firm’s Antitrust Practice and be based in its D.C. office. His move comes after 13 years at the FTC, where he was the lead litigator ... Simpson Thacher Adds FTC’s Matt Reilly
The DOJ’s Problematic Attack on Property Rights Through Merger Review
The DOJ’s recent press release on the Google/Motorola, Rockstar Bidco, and Apple/ Novell transactions struck me as a bit odd when I read it. As I’ve now had a bit of time to digest it, I’ve grown to really dislike it. For those who have not followed Jorge Contreras had an excellent summary of events ... The DOJ’s Problematic Attack on Property Rights Through Merger Review
Greg Werden in Defense of Defining Markets
One of the more significant papers in antitrust of late has been Professor Kaplow’s Why (Ever) Define Markets? Kaplow provocatively argues that the entire “market definition/ market share” paradigm of antitrust is misguided and beyond repair. Kaplow describes the exclusive role of market definition in that paradigm as generating inferences about market power, argues that ... Greg Werden in Defense of Defining Markets
FTC Closes UFC Investigation
Sports Illustrated: The Federal Trade Commission has concluded and closed a six-month, nonpublic investigation of Zuffa LLC., the owners of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and will not take further action at this time, an FTC spokesperson confirmed to SI.com on Tuesday. According to closing letters to parties involved that were made public Tuesday, the FTC ... FTC Closes UFC Investigation
Divining a Regulator’s Intent
Regulated firms and their Washington lawyers study agency reports and public statements carefully to figure out the rules of the road; the clearer the rules, the easier it is for regulated firms to understand how the rules affect their businesses and to plan accordingly. So long as the regulator and the regulated firm are on ... Divining a Regulator’s Intent
Best Antitrust Articles and Books of 2011
Danny Sokol posted some nominations for best Antitrust Article from a variety of antitrust experts. I was supposed to include my nomination for that list but missed the deadline. Turns out my draft list doesn’t have much overlap with the articles nominated over there, so I figured I’d share my whole list here with all ... Best Antitrust Articles and Books of 2011
Some Links
Professor Bainbridge properly gives candidate Gingrich the treatment Professor Ribstein dished out to Professor Krugman on private equity Jury deliberates in $1B antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft (USA Today) Clock stops on EU review of Google-Motorola acquisition (BNA) Analyst argues that killing the AT&T-T-Mobile transaction will pose risks for investors as the former searches for others ... Some Links
A Quick Assessment of the FCC’s Appalling Staff Report on the AT&T Merger
As everyone knows by now, AT&T’s proposed merger with T-Mobile has hit a bureaucratic snag at the FCC. The remarkable decision to refer the merger to the Commission’s Administrative Law Judge (in an effort to derail the deal) and the public release of the FCC staff’s internal, draft report are problematic and poorly considered. But ... A Quick Assessment of the FCC’s Appalling Staff Report on the AT&T Merger
Was the Whirlpool/Maytag Merger Anticompetitive After All?
One of the most controversial merger policy decisions during the Bush administration was the DOJ’s failure to bring a complaint against the Whirlpool/Maytag merger. Indeed, the decision was even criticized by Carl Shapiro, the economic expert retained by the DOJ on the case. Jonathan Baker and Carl Shapiro summarize this conclusion as follows: “The March ... Was the Whirlpool/Maytag Merger Anticompetitive After All?
