California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (AG Becerra) announced on Friday, December 20, 2019, the terms of a comprehensive settlement agreement reached with Sutter Health (Sutter), the largest hospital system in Northern California.
Antitrust Alert
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FTC and DOJ Draft Vertical Merger Guidelines Provide Additional Transparency to Agency Practice
For the first time since the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) published non-horizontal merger guidelines in 1984, the DOJ and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued updated Vertical Merger Guidelines to explain how the antitrust agencies analyze vertical mergers. The…
Recent Merger Reviews Demonstrate Increased FTC and DOJ Focus on Acquisitions of Nascent Competitors
Three recent antitrust merger reviews involving nascent competition demonstrate enforcers are paying close attention to acquisitions by industry leaders of emerging, but early-stage competitors. The US antitrust agencies have been criticized for allowing leading technology companies to extend their entrenched…
Antitrust M&A Snapshot | DOJ Arbitrates Market Definition Dispute While EC Clears Acquisition of Broadband and Energy Networks
There was significant antitrust activity in the third quarter of 2019. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) continued an active docket challenging M&A transactions. DOJ is resolving antitrust reviews significantly faster than…
Interim Measures Imposed on Broadcom: The Re-Awakening of a Once-Dormant Tool?
The European Commission (EC) has found, on a prima facie basis, that Broadcom abused its dominant position. In order to avert the risk of serious and irreparable damage to competition, Broadcom has been ordered to cease its prima facie abusive…
DOJ Set to Increase Scrutiny of Government Contractors with New Procurement Collusion Strike Force
Government contractors should be aware that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is taking new steps to scrutinize public procurement. The DOJ Antitrust Division’s creation of the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF) means that government procurement enforcement will be a significant…
Obtaining Class Certification in the United States
Developments in antitrust class actions over the past year highlight the critical role that the certification decision plays. In the United States, the denial of class certification “may sound the ‘death knell’ of the litigation on the part of plaintiffs.”…
THE LATEST: California Jury Rejects Robinson-Patman Act Claim Against 5-hour Energy Maker
Family-owned wholesalers brought a Robinson-Patman claim against the maker of 5-hour Energy alleging discounts given to Costco amounted to illegal price discrimination. A jury in California rejected the claim after a fact-intensive analysis of competition and potential antitrust injury.
WHAT…
6 Trends in Global Antitrust M&A, and How General Counsel Can Deal with Them
Today, companies looking to merge with others across jurisdictions would do well to consider antitrust issues at the beginning of the transaction process; regulatory antitrust challenges to M&A are increasing globally. On Corporate Counsel, McDermott partners Jon B. Dubrow and…
FTC Ratchets up Scrutiny on Pharmaceutical Deals
WHAT HAPPENED:
- Recent developments indicate that pharmaceutical deals are attracting greater scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
- In September 2019, FTC Chairman Joseph Simons reportedly stated that the FTC will more closely scrutinize deals with overlaps involving products that
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