October 2007 :: Antitrust Lawyer Blog
Squeezed On: October 26, 2007

NORTH AMERICAN DIVESTITURE ORDERED IN OWENS CORNING

On October 26, 2007 the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) entered into a settlement agreement with Owens Corning regarding its proposed acquisition of the glass fiber reinforcements and composite fabric assets of Compagnie de Saint Gobain (Saint Gobain). The complaint accompanying the consent agreement asserts that the deal reduces competition in the North American market for continuous filament mat (“CFM”) products. Under the terms of the consent order that would resolve the Commission’s charges and allow the deal to proceed, Owens Corning must divest its North American CFM to AGY Holding Company within 10 days of completing its acquisition of the Saint Gobain assets.

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Squeezed On: October 24, 2007

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ORDERS DIVESTITURE IN ABITIBI/BOWATER MERGER

On October 24, 2007, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that it will require two of the nation's largest newsprint manufacturers – Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. and Bowater Inc.– to divest a newsprint mill in Arizona. As originally laid out, the DOJ alleged that the $1.6 billion transaction would have considerably hampered competition in the production and sale of newsprint in North America.

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Squeezed On: October 23, 2007

DIVESTITURES LEAD TO SETTLEMENT IN VULCAN'S ACQUISITION OF FLORIDA ROCK

On November 13, 2007, the Department of Justice announced that it reached a settlement that will require Vulcan Materials Company and Florida Rock Industries Inc. to divest eight quarries that produce coarse aggregate in Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia and one distribution yard in Virginia in order to proceed with their proposed $4.6 billion merger. The Department claimed that the original proposed acquisition likely would result in higher prices for purchasers of coarse aggregate in certain areas.

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Squeezed On: October 10, 2007

SPANISH GOVERNMENT TO CHALLENGE EUROPEAN COMMISSION’S DECISION TO FINE TELEFÓNICA

The Spanish Government announced on October 8, 2007, that it will bring an action before the Court of First Instance against the Commission’s decision to fine Telefónica. The Spanish Government believes that the Commission’s decision does not respect the Spanish telecoms regulator’s ("CMT") competencies.

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Squeezed On: October 10, 2007

COMMISSION INITIATES PHASE II INVESTIGATION INTO THOMSON'S ACQUISITION OF REUTERS

On October 8, 2007, the European Commission (the “Commission”) initiated Phase II proceedings into the proposed acquisition of Reuters by Thomson. The in-depth assessment affords the Commission the opportunity to further examine the impact on competition of the proposed acquisition on the affected markets, notably for the supply of financial information.

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Squeezed On: October 9, 2007

KYPHON'S ACQUISITION OF DISC-O-TECH IS APPROVED

On October 9, 2007 the Federal Trade Commission entered into a settlement agreement with Kyphon, Inc. (“Kyphon”) that allows Kyphon to acquire the spinal assets of Disc-O-Tech Medical Technologies, Ltd. and Discotech Orthopedic Technologies, Inc. (collectively “Disc-O-Tech”).

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Squeezed On: October 3, 2007

FTC ANNOUNCES THE END OF LITIGATION IN THE WESTERN REFINING CASE

On October 3, 2007, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it will not continue with administrative litigation challenging Western Refining, Inc.’s acquisition of Giant Industries, Inc. The vote to dismiss the administrative complaint was 3-2.

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Squeezed On: October 2, 2007

COMMISSION APPROVES SONY/BMG MERGER FOR THE SECOND TIME

On January 9, 2004, Sony Corp of Japan and Bertelsmann AG of Germany notified the European Commission (the “Commission) of their intention to combine their global recorded music businesses into a joint venture under the name of SonyBMG. They notified under the old EC Merger Regulation.

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Squeezed On: October 1, 2007

GERMAN FEDERAL SUPREME COURT REFERS THE BKARTA’S SPRINGER/PROSIEBEN-SAT1 MERGER PROHIBITIONDECISION BACK TO THE HIGHER REGIONAL COURT DÜSSELDORF

In a recent judgment dated September 30, 2007, the Federal Supreme Court held that even after parties abandon their merger plans due to a prohibition decision by the German Federal Cartel Office ("BKartA"), German courts hold jurisdiction to rule on the question as to whether the BKartA was right to prohibit the proposed merger. The parties do, however, need to demonstrate a special interest in such a court review. The Federal Supreme Court acknowledged that such an interest arises in particular if the purchaser is likely to be confronted with similar arguments by the BKartA that led to the relevant prohibition when notifying potential future acquisitions.

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