DOJ INVESTIGATING MONSANTO
On January 14, the DOJ announced that it has opened a formal antitrust investigation of the soybean seed industry.
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January 14, 2010
December 16, 2009
DOJ CLEARS CISCO'S ACQUISITION OF STARENT
On December 16, 2009, Cisco announced that the DOJ terminated the mandatory waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act of 1976, as amended, with respect to Cisco's pending acquisition of Starent Networks.
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October 14, 2009
FTC SETTLES WITH PFIZER REGARDING ITS ACQUISITION OF WYETH
On October 14, 2009, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) settled with Pfizer Inc. regarding its proposed $68 billion acquisition of Wyeth.
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October 13, 2009
ICE PACKAGING COMPANY AND ITS EXECUTIVES PLEAD GUILTY TO CUSTOMER ALLOCATION CONSPIRACY
On October 13, 2009, Arctic Glacier International (“AGI”) and three of its former executives, Frank Larson (former senior VP of operations), Keith Corbin (former VP of sales), and Gary Cooley (former VP of sales and marketing), pled guilty for their role in a conspiracy to allocate customers of packaged-ice in the Detroit metropolitan area and southeastern Michigan. The company agreed to pay a criminal fine of $9 million.
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September 30, 2009
DOJ WILL NOT CHALLENGE LTL FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION COMPANIES’ JOINT VENTURE
On September 8, 2009, the Department of Justice announced that it would not challenge the formation of a Reliance Network, a joint venture between seven regional less-than-truckload (“LTL”) freight transportation companies, based on the representations made by the applicants.
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September 22, 2009
U.S. ANTITRUST AGENCIES TO EXPLORE CHANGES TO HORIZONTAL MERGER GUIDELINES
On September 22, the Department of Justice ("DOJ") and the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") announced that they will solicit public comment and hold joint public workshops to explore the possibility of updating the Horizontal Merger Guidelines that are used by both agencies to evaluate the potential competitive effects of mergers and acquisitions.
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September 18, 2009
DOJ PRESENTS CONCERNS TO COURT REGARDING GOOGLE'S BOOK SETTLEMENT
On September 18, the DOJ presented its a statement of its views regarding the proposed class action settlement between the American Association of Publishers and Google. As the parties continue to modify the settlement agreement, the DOJ issued a statement of interest to the court to provide the court with the Antitrust Division's concerns relating to a potential settlement.
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September 8, 2009
DOJ WILL NOT CHALLENGE LTL FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION COMPANIES’ JOINT VENTURE
On September 8, 2009, the Department of Justice announced that it would not challenge the formation of a Reliance Network, a joint venture between seven regional less-than-truckload (“LTL”) freight transportation companies, based on the representations made by the applicants.
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September 4, 2009
DOJ CLOSES INVESTIGATION OF FIDELITY's ACQUISITION OF METAVANTE
On September 3, the companies announced that they received clearance from the Department of Justice to complete their proposed merger without conditions.
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August 25, 2009
EPSON PLEADS GUILTY TO AND PAYS $26 MILLION FINE FOR ITS ROLE IN GLOBAL LCD PRICE-FIXING CONSPIRACY
On August 25, 2009, Epson Imaging Devices Corporation (“Epson”), a Japanese electronics manufacturer, pled guilty for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices in the sale of Thin Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display (“TFT-LDC”) panels and agreed to pay a fine of $26 million.
TFT-LCD panels are used in computer monitors, notebooks, televisions, mobile phones, and other electronic devices. Worldwide sales in 2006 were $70 billion.
Specifically, Epson’s subsidiary Seiko Epson Corporation participated in a conspiracy to fix prices of TFT-LCD panels sold to Motorola for use in Motorola Razr mobile phones from the fall of 2005 to the middle of 2006.
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August 21, 2009
DOJ SETTLES WITH MICROSEMI TO RESTORE COMPETITION IN SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES USED IN MILITARY AND SPACE APPLICATIONS
On August 20, 2009, the DOJ announced that it reached a proposed settlement with Microsemi Corporation requiring the company to divest all of the assets that it acquired from Semicoa Inc. on July 14, 2008. The DOJ investigated the consummated acquisition and filed a civil antitrust suit to force Microsemi to divest the Semicoa assets to restore competition on December 18, 2008. Without this settlement agreement to divest, there would be little or no competition in the development, manufacture and sale of certain semiconductor devices used in military and space programs essential to the security of the United States.
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August 20, 2009
DOJ ENDS INVESTIGATION OF ORACLE'S PURCHASE OF SUN
On August 20, 2009, Oracle announced that the DOJ closed its investigation of Oracle's acquisition of Sun. The DOJ issued a second request to further investigate the transaction in late June. The DOJ ended its investigation approximatley two months after issuing the second request without requiring any remedy.
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August 19, 2009
FORMER EXECUTIVE INDICTED IN GLOBAL COLOR DISPLAY TUBE PRICE-FIXING CONSPIRACY
On August 19, 2009, Wen Jun (“Tony”) Cheng, a former assistant vice president of sales and marketing at a large Taiwanese color display tube (CDT) manufacturing company, was indicted at U.S. District Court in San Francisco for his role in a global conspiracy to fix prices of CDTs. CDTs are a type of cathode ray tube used in computer monitors and other specialized applications
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August 6, 2009
DOJ AND USDA TO HOLD PUBLIC WORKSHOPS TO EXPLORE COMPETITION ISSUES IN THE AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY
On August 5, 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture ("USDA") will hold joint public workshops to explore competition issues affecting the agriculture industry and the appropriate role for antitrust enforcement in agriculture. These are the first joint DOJ/USDA workshops ever to be held to discuss competition and regulatory issues in the agriculture industry.
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July 30, 2009
DOJ REQUIRES DIVESTITURE IN SAPA'S ACQUISITION OF INDALEX
On July 30, 2009, the DOJ announced that it reached a settlement that will require Sapa Holding AB and Indalex Holdings Finance Inc. to divest a North Carolina aluminum sheathing facility in order to proceed with Sapa's proposed $150 million acquisition of Indalex. According to the complaint, the transaction would substantially lessen competition for the manufacture and sale of aluminum sheathing (coiled extruded aluminum tubing) used in the manufacture of high frequency coaxial cable in the United States, resulting in increased prices and reduced quality, service and innovation, had the parties not agreed to the divestiture.
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July 6, 2009
DOJ REPORTEDLY REVIEWING TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY
On July 6, a number of news sources reported that the DOJ has begun looking into whether large U.S. telecommunications companies such as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. are abusing their market power they have amassed in recent years.
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June 23, 2009
MEDIA EXECUTIVE PAYS $1.4 MILLION FOR VIOLATING PREMERGER NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
On June 23, 2009, John C. Malone, the chairman of the board of Liberty Media Corporation and the chief executive officer of Discovery Holding Co. (“Discovery”), agreed to pay a penalty of $1.4 million for violating premerger reporting and waiting requirements of the Hart-Scott-Rodino (“HSR”) Act of 1976 when acquiring Discovery.
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May 21, 2009
HSR RULES MUST BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY
On May 3,2004, the Department of Justice's ("DOJ") Antitrust Division, at the request of the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC"), filed two civil suits against alleged violators of pre-merger notification filing requirements under the Hart-Scott-Rodino ("HSR") Act of 1976. The HSR Act imposes notification and waiting period requirements on individuals and companies over a certain size before they can consummate acquisitions of stock or assets valued at more than $50 million. The purpose of the HSR Act is to provide federal antitrust enforcement agencies an opportunity to investigate proposed transactions and determine whether the transactions would violate the antitrust laws. If the reviewing agency determines that a transaction violates the antitrust laws, it may seek to block that transaction before the waiting period expires. Therefore, the antitrust agencies take HSR violations very seriously, even ones where no competition overlaps exist. Indeed, a party is subject to a maximum civil penalty of $11,000 a day for each day it is in violation of the HSR Act.
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May 11, 2009
ANTITRUST DIVISION WILL TAKE A MORE AGGRESSIVE APPROACH TO EXCLUSIONARY CONDUCT
On May 11, 2009, Christine A. Varney, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department's Antitrust Division, delivered her first speech at an event sponsored by the Center for American Progress. The speech, entitled "Vigorous Antitrust Enforcement in this Challenging Era," confirms that the new administration intends be much more active role than the Bush administration in terms of antitrust enforcement. Her speech primarily focused on the Department's approach to enforcing Section 2 of the Sherman Act, which prohibits monopolization or attempts to monopolize.
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May 4, 2009
DOJ SETTLES WITH CONSOLIDATED MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICE, INC.
On May 4, 2009, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) reached a settlement with Consolidated Multiple Listing Service, Inc. (“CMLS”) that requires CMLS to change its rules to allow for increased competition between low-priced, innovative real estate brokers compete with traditional real estate brokers in the Columbia, South Carolina market.
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April 27, 2009
LCD PRICE-FIXING CONSPIRACY
On April 27, 2009, Bock Kwon, a high level executive at LG Display Co. Ltd. (“LG”) pled guilty, agreed to serve one year in prison in the United States and pay a criminal fine of $30,000 for his role in a conspiracy to suppress and eliminate competition in the Thin Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display (TFT-LCD) industry by fixing prices of TFT-LCD panels.
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April 22, 2009
DOJ’S ANTITRUST DIVISION ANNOUNCE NEW LEADERSHIP TEAM
On April 22, 2009, the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division announced its leadership team. The new team includes the Chief of Staff, four Deputy Assistant Attorneys General, a Special Counsel for Competition Policy. Two Deputy Assistant Attorney Generals will oversee civil matters, one Deputy Assistant Attorney General will oversee economic analysis and one Deputy Assistant Attorney General will oversee international, policy and appellate issues.
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April 21, 2009
ILLINOIS REFUSE CONTAINER REPAIR COMPANY EXECUTIVES INDICTED
On April 21, 2009, Douglas E. Ritter, president of a refuse disposal container repair company, and Stephen Fenzl, vice-president of the same company, were charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud and one count of wire fraud.
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April 20, 2009
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL CHRISTINE A. VARNEY WILL LEAD DOJ’S ANTITRUST DIVISION
On April 20, 2009, the U.S. Senate approved the appointment of Christine A. Varney as Assistant Attorney Generals. Ms. Varney will lead the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.
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April 9, 2009
AIRLINES PLEAD GUILTY FOR THEIR ROLE IN WORLDWIDE CONSPIRACY TO FIX AIR CARGO PRICES
On April 9, 2009, Cargolux Airlines International, Nippon Cargo Airlines, and Asiana Airlines, pled guilty and agreed to pay criminal fines totaling $214 million for their role in worldwide conspiracy to fix to fix prices in the air cargo industry.
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April 8, 2009
CONTRACTOR PLEADS GUILTY TO MISLEADING LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS IN ONGOING ANTITRUST INVESTIGATION
On April 8, 2009, Stephen E. McAnulty, a former owner of an asbestos monitoring contractor that provided services to New York Presbyterian Hospital (“NYPH”), pled guilty to making false statements to agents and representatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.
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April 2, 2009
TWO INDIVIDUALS CONVICTED FOR CONSPIRING TO COMMIT BRIBERY
On April 2, 2009, Durwanda Elizabeth Morgan Heinrich, a dirt, sand, and gravel subcontractor, and Kern Carver Bernard Wilson, a former contract employee of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were convicted on charges of conspiring to commit bribery. Additionally, Heinrich was found guilty of two counts of offering a bribe to a public official and Wilson was found guilty of one count of demanding and agreeing to accept a bribe as a public official.
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April 2, 2009
FORMER HOME DEPOT EMPLOYEES SENTENCED FOR THEIR ROLE IN CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD HOME DEPOT
On April 2, 2009, Ronald K. Johnston and James P. Robinson, two former employees of Home Depot, were sentenced to federal prison and were ordered pay restitution fees for their role in a conspiracies to commit wire and tax fraud against its former employer.
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April 2, 2009
KICKBACK SCHEME TO DEFRAUD NEW YORK CITY HOSPITAL
On April 2, 2009, Krzysztof Koczon, a resident of Connecticut, pled guilty for his role in a conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”).
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March 31, 2009
HITACHI EXECUTIVE CHARGED FOR PARTICIPATING IN ONGOING PRICE FIXING CONSPIRACY IN TFT-LCD INDUSTRY
On March 31, 2009, Sakae Someya, an executive at Hitachi Displays, Ltd. (“Hitachi”) was charged for participating in a conspiracy to suppress and eliminate competition in the Thin Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display (“TFT-LCD”) industry by fixing prices of TFT-LCD panels sold to Dell, Inc (“Dell”) for its use in notebook and desktop computers.
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March 25, 2009
MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR KICKBACK SCHEME DEFRAUDS NEW YORK CITY HOSPITAL
On March 25, 2009, Mariusz Debowski, a resident of Connecticut who was involved in the operations of three businesses in Brooklyn, NY, pled guilty to for his role in a conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”).
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March 19, 2009
MONEY LAUNDERING SCHEME AT KUWAIT AIR BASE
On March 19, 2009, Carolyn Blake, sister of U.S. Army officer John Cockerham, pled guilty for her participation in a money-laundering scheme and accepting more than $3 million in bribes on behalf of her brother.
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March 10, 2009
HITACHI PLEADS GUILTY TO ITS ROLE IN GLOBAL PRICE FIXING CONSPIRACY TO SELL LCD PANELS
On March 10, 2009, Hitachi Displays, Ltd (“Hitachi”), a subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd (a Japanese electronics manufacturer), pled guilty and agreed to pay a fine of $31 million for its role in a conspiracy to fix the prices of Thin Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display panels (“TFT-LCD”) sold to Dell Inc. (“Dell”).
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February 26, 2009
FEDERAL CREOSOTE EMPLOYEE PLEADS GUILTY TO DEFRAUDING EPA AT SUPERFUND SITE
On February 26, 2009, Christopher Tranchina, an employee of a company temporarily responsible for electrical utilities at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) designated Superfund site, Federal Creosote in Manville, NJ, pled guilty to defrauding the EPA at that site.
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February 20, 2009
JBS AND NATIONAL BEEF ABANDON DEAL
On February 20, 2009, JBS and National Beef announced the abandonment of the JBS/National Beef transaction. The Antitrust Division filed an antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Chicago to block the proposed acquisition, alleging that the deal would result in lower prices paid to cattle suppliers and higher beef prices for consumers. At that time, Attorneys General of Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming joined the Department's lawsuit. On Nov. 7, 2008, the states of Arizona, Connecticut, New Mexico and Mississippi joined the lawsuit as well.
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January 30, 2009
DOJ IMPOSES LONGEST JAIL SENTENCE FOR A SINGLE ANTITRUST CHARGE ON FORMER SHIPPING EXECUTIVE
On January 30, 2009, Peter Baci, a former executive at a freight service company, was sentenced to 48 months in jail and agreed to pay a criminal fine of $20,000. This sentence marks the longest jail sentence ever imposed for a single antitrust charge.
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January 15, 2009
FORMER EXECUTIVES AT TFT-LCD PANEL MAKERS CHARGED IN GLOBAL CONSPIRACY TO FIX PRICES
On January 15, 2009, Chang Suk (“C.S.”) Chung, former Vice President of Monitor Sales for LG Display Co. Ltd. (“LG”), Chieng-Hon Lin (“Frank”), former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd. (“Chunghwa”), Chih-Chun Liu (“C.C.”), former Vice President of LCD Sales for Chunghwa, and Hseuh-Lung Lee (“Brian”), former executive of Chunghwa, all pled guilty to their roles in a global conspiracy to fix prices in the sale of Thin Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display (“TFT-LCD”) panels. They also agreed to serve jail time and pay criminal fines.
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January 14, 2009
AT&T AGREES TO PAY $2 MILLION TO SETTLE WITH DOJ
On January 14, 2009, AT&T Inc. (“AT&T”) entered into a civil settlement worth $2 million with the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) to settle charges that AT&T was in contempt of a March 2008 consent decree AT&T entered into during its acquisition of Dobson Communications Corporation (“Dobson”).
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January 14, 2009
AT&T AGREES TO PAY $2 MILLION TO SETTLE WITH DOJ
On January 14, 2009, AT&T Inc. (“AT&T”) entered into a civil settlement worth $2 million with the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) to settle charges that AT&T was in contempt of a March 2008 consent decree AT&T entered into during its acquisition of Dobson Communications Corporation (“Dobson”).
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December 18, 2008
DOJ FILES ANTITRUST LAWSUIT AGAINST MICROSEMI CORPORATION
On December 18, 2008, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) filed an antitrust lawsuit against Microsemi Corporation (“Microsemi”) alleging that Microsemi’s acquisition of Semicoa Inc.’s (“Semicoa”) assets has reduced or eliminated competition for the development, manufacture, sale of certain semiconductor devices used by the U.S. military and space programs, resulting in the increase in the price of these products and a potential decline in quality.
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December 15, 2008
TWO INVESTMENT FUNDS VIOLATE ANTITURST PRE-MERGER NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS AS OUTLINED IN HSR ACT
On December 15, 2008, ESL Partners (“ESL”) of Greenwich, Conn., and ZAM Holdings (“ZAM”) of New York City, two investment funds with holdings in numerous companies, will pay $525,000 and $275,000, respectively, in civil penalties for violating antitrust pre-merger notification requirements under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act of 1976 (“HSR Act”).
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December 11, 2008
DOJ REQUIRED DIVESTITURES IN PNC’S ACQUISTION OF NATIONAL CITY
On December 11, 2008, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) required The PNC Financial Services Group (“PNC”) to sell 61 of National City Corporation’s (“National City”) branches totaling approximately $4.1 billion in deposits for PNC’s acquisition of National City to proceed.
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December 3, 2008
DOJ REQUIRES DIVESTURE IN REPUBLIC’S ACQUISTION OF ALLIED WASTE
On December 3, 2008, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) required Republic Services Inc. (“Republic”) and Allied Waste Industries Inc. (“Allied”) to divest to divest 87 commercial waste collection routes, nine landfills and 10 transfer stations for Republic’s $4.5 billion acquisition of Allied to proceed.
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November 19, 2008
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL THOMAS, BARNETT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE’S ANTITRUST DIVISION RESIGNS
On November 19, 2008, Assistant Attorney General Thomas, Barnett of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division resigned.
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November 14, 2008
DOJ REQUIRES DIVESTITURE IN INBEV’S $52 BILLION ACQUISITION OF ANHEUSER-BUSCH
On November 14, 2008, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) required Inbev N.V./S.A. (“Inbev”) to divest its subsidiary Labatt USA (“Labatt”) in order for Inbev’s $52 billion acquisition of Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc (“Anheuser-Busch”) to proceed. Along with the divestiture, Inbev must sell its license to brew, market, promote, and sell the Labatt brand of beer for consumption in the United States to a DOJ-approved purchaser.
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November 14, 2008
DOJ Allows InBev to Acquire Anheuser Busch
On November 14, the DOJ allowed InBev N.V./S.A. (“InBev”) to acquire Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. (“Anheuser-Busch”) on the condition that InBev divest Labatt USA.
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November 12, 2008
THREE ELECTRONIC COMPANIES PLEAD GUILTY TO ROLE IN LCD PANEL PRICE FIXING CONSPIRACY
On November 12, 2008, LG Display Co. Ltd. (“LG”), Sharp Corp. (“Sharp”), and Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd. (“Chunghwa”) pled guilty for their role in a conspiracy to fix prices for liquid crystal display (“LCD”) panels and agreed to pay criminal fines totaling $585 million.
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November 5, 2008
YAHOO AND GOOGLE ABANDON AGREEMENT
On November 5, 2008, Yahoo! Inc. (“Yahoo!”) and Google Inc. (“Google”) ended their advertising agreement after the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) said that it would file an antitrust lawsuit to block the implementation of the agreement. According to the DOJ, both companies account for 90 percent of the Internet search advertising and Internet search syndication. As such, the agreement would harm competition in each of the relevant markets.
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October 30, 2008
DOJ REQUIRES DIVESTITURES IN VERIZON’S ACQUISITION OF ALLTEL
On October 30, 2008, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) required Verizon Communications Corp. (“Verizon”) to divest assets in 100 locations in 22 States for its acquisition of Alltel Corp. (“Alltel”) to proceed. The divestitures cover the States of Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Virginia.
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October 29, 2008
DOJ ENDS INVESTIGATION INTO MERGER BETWEEN DELTA AND NORTHWEST
On October 29, 2008, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) decided to end its investigation into the proposed merger between Delta Air Lines, Inc. (“Delta”) and Northwest Airlines Corporation (“Northwest”).
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October 21, 2008
DOJ DOES NOT CHALLENGE CONSORTIUM’S RADIO FREQUENCY PATENT LICENSING AGREEMENT
On October 21, 2008, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) decided not to challenge a joint licensing agreement by RFID Consortium LLC (“RFID”) for patents to comply with ultra high frequency radio frequency identification (“UHF RFID”) technology, which has a variety of uses including airline baggage tracking, retail product inventory and ticketing for events. RFID is a group of companies that hold at least one essential UHF RFID patent. According to the DOJ, the proposal could result in cost savings and greater access to the technology, ultimately benefitting competition and consumers.
Andre Barlow
(202) 589-1834
abarlow@dbmlawgroup.com
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October 20, 2008
DOJ BLOCKS JBS’S ACQUSIITION OF NATIONAL BEEF PACKING COMPANY
On October 20, 2008, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) filed a civil antitrust lawsuit to prevent JBS’s proposed acquisition of National Beef Packing Company LLC (“National”). JBS is the world’s largest beef packer and the third largest in the United States with annual sales in the United States exceeding $6 billion. National is the fourth largest beef packer in the United States with annual beef sales of about $5 billion.
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October 6, 2008
DOJ REQUIRES DIVESTITURE IN MANITOWOC’S ACQUISITION OF ENODIS
On October 6, 2008, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) entered into a settlement agreement requiring The Manitowoc Company (“Manitowoc”) to divest its entire U.S. ice machine business to allow its $2.7 billion acquisition of Enodis Plc (“Enodis”) to proceed.
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August 28, 2008
DOJ APPROVES RAYCOM MEDIA’S ACQUISITION WWBT-TV
On August 28, 2008, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) approved Raycom Media, Inc.’s (“Raycom”) acquisition of Richmond NBC affiliate, WWBT-TV from Lincoln Financial Media Company (“Lincoln”) after entering into a settlement agreement requiring Raycom to divest its Richmond CBS affiliate WTVR-TV to resolve antitrust concerns. This acquisition would have resulted in Raycom owning two of the top four local broadcast stations, in terms of advertising revenue.
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July 23, 2008
N.J. WASTEWATER TREATMENT SUPPLY COMPANY OWNER AND A CONTRACTS ADMINISTRATOR PLEAD GUILTY TO BID RIGGING, FRAUD AND TAX OFFENSES
On July 23, 2008, JMJ Environmental Inc. (“JMJ”), a wastewater treatment company, its owner, John Drimak Jr., and Norman Stoerr, a former contracts administrator, pled guilty to various counts of bid rigging, fraud, and tax evasion. These charges were all in connection with sub-contracts for wastewater treatment services at two Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) designated Superfund Sites, Federal Cresote in Manville, NJ and Diamond Alkali in Newark, NJ.
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July 11, 2008
ANOTHER HOME DEPOT EMPLOYEE PLEADS GUILTY TO VENDOR KICKBACK SCHEME AND TAX EVASION IN SCHEME TO DEFRAUD HOME DEPOT
On July 11, 2008, James P. Robinson, a former Divisional Merchandising Manager for Flooring at Home Depot, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and two counts of tax evasion related to a scheme to defraud Home Depot.
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July 3, 2008
DOJ REQUIRES DIVESTITURE IN SIGNATURE’S ACQUISITION OF HAWKER BEECHCRAFT’S FLIGHT SUPPORT SERVICE BUSINESS
On July 3, 2008, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) entered into a settlement agreement allowing Signature Flight Support Corporation to acquire Hawker Beechcraft’s (“Hawker”) fixed based operations (“FBO”). The settlement agreement requires Signature to divest its flight support service assets.
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July 1, 2008
DOJ APPROVES NEW JERSEY ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING CONSULTING COMPANY’S PROPOSAL
On July 1, 2008, the Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) Antitrust Division decided to allow External Compliance Officer Inc., a New Jersey based anti-money laundering consulting company, to create a database that would allow money transmitters to better understand the backgrounds of prospective agents. A money transmitter is a company that provides electronic money transfer services to individuals. An agent receives and processes money from senders and distributes the funds to recipients.
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July 1, 2008
VISA REVOKES DEBIT CARD RULE AS RESULT OF DOJ ANTITRUST INVESTIGATION
On July 1, 2008, Visa Inc. rescinded a rule that required merchants to treat Visa-branded debit cards differently when used as a PIN-debit card (and processed via non-Visa networks) from the same cards when used as signature debit cards and processed on the Visa network. The rule was rescinded in response to the Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) Antitrust Division’s investigation. Rescinding the rule allows affiliated banks to provide merchants the option of waiving the entry of a PIN for most non-Visa debit transactions initiated from Visa branded debit cards. Before the investigation, Visa prohibited banks from allowing its merchants to waive the PIN, even for “small ticket” transactions ($25 or less) from a non-Visa PIN network. The DOJ’s Antitrust Division began investigating the effects of this regulation on competition in the debit card industry.
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June 30, 2008
FORMER HOME DEPOT EMPLOYEE PLEADS GUILTY TO DEFRAUDING HOME DEPOT IN VENDOR KICKBACK SCHEME AND TAX EVASION
On June 30, 2008 Anthony M. Tesvich, a former employee of Home Depot, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and three counts of tax evasion, in connection with a scheme to defraud Home Depot.
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June 26, 2008
MAJOR INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES PLEAD GUILTY AND AGREE TO PAY FINES FOR THEIR ROLE IN MAJOR CONSPIRACY TO FIX AIR CARGO RATES
On June 26, 2008, five major international airlines including Socit Air France (Air France), Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (Cathay), Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. (KLM Royal Dutch Airlines), Martinair Holland N.V. (Martinair), and SAS Cargo Group A/S (SAS) pled guilty and agreed to pay fines for their role in a major international conspiracy to fix prices for cargo shipments to and from the United States.
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June 20, 2008
COURT ALLOWS DOJ LAWSUIT AGAINST DAILY GAZETTE AND MEDIANEWS TO CONTINUE
On June 20, 2008, the U.S. District Court in Charleston, WV, issued an opinion and order to allow the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) to proceed with a lawsuit against the Daily Gazette Company (“Daily”) and MediaNews Group Inc. (MediaNews).
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June 17, 2008
CINCINNATI ICE COMPANY PLEADS GUILTY TO CUSTOMER AND TERRITORY ALLOCATION CHARGE
On June 17, 2003, Home City Ice Company pled guilty to conspiracy in allocating packaged-ice customers and territories among its co-conspirators. The DOJ alleged that Home City along with its co-conspirators suppressed competition by allocating customers and territories in the Detroit Metropolitan area and southeastern Michigan amongst themselves. This conspiracy took place between January 2001 and July 2007.
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June 10, 2008
DOJ REQUIRES DIVESTITURES IN VERIZON’S ACQUISTION OF RCC
On June 10, 2008 the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) along with the State of Vermont entered into a settlement agreement that would allay their concerns that Verizon Communication Corp.’s (“Verizon”) acquisition of Rural Cellular Corp. (“RCC”) for $2.7 billion as proposed is anticompetitive. To resolve antitrust concerns, the DOJ required Verzion to divest assets in six different geographic locations in Vermont, New York and Washington. Verizon and RCC provide service to approximately 60 percent of the consumers in those areas. The Department said that the transaction as originally proposed would have substantially lessened competition to the detriment of consumers of mobile wireless telecommunications services in those areas, potentially resulting in higher prices, lower quality and reduced network investments.
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June 5, 2008
DOJ APPROVES JOINT VENTURE BETWEEN SABMILLER PLC AND MOLSON COORS BREWING COMPANY
On June 5, 2008, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) approved a joint venture between SABMiller plc and Molson Coors Brewing Company which combined their operations in the United States and Puerto Rico. While the transaction combined two of three largest U.S. brewers in the United States, the DOJ’s Antitrust Division did not find any evidence that this joint venture would reduce competition.
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May 28, 2008
DOJ ALLOWS CENGAGE TO ACQUIRE HM COLLEGE
On May 28, 2008, the Department of Justice blocked a proposed $750 million acquisition of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company's College Division (“HM College”) by Cengage Learning, Inc (“Cengage”). The DOJ required the divestiture of Cengage’s assets related to the textbooks and education materials of 14 of its college level courses. The textbooks ranged from topics on foreign languages to business.
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