Berkshire Hathaway Agrees to Pay $896,000 Maximum Civil Penalty for HSR Violation On August 20, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (“Berkshire”) agreed to pay a civil penalty of $896,000, the maximum civil penalty that could have been imposed, for its alleged violation of the…
On May 6, 2014, a gasoline price-fixing lawsuit brought by District of Columbia Attorney General Irving Nathan was thrown out of court by Judge Craig Iscoe, ruling the District of Columbia has no grounds to bring such an action. The District of Columbia’s lawsuit challenged the exclusive dealing contracts (the…
On May 20, 2014, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that it will require Ardent Mills, a proposed merger of the wheat milling operations of the companies ConAgra, Cargill, and CHS, to divest four competitively significant mills to an upfront buyer before clearing the deal for approval. These four mills…
On May 30, 2014, the federal district court of the District of Columbia, Judge Beryl Howell upheld the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) newly adopted HSR rule governing reporting of transfers of certain exclusive patent rights in the pharmaceutical industry. The rule was adopted in November of 2013. The Pharmaceutical Research…
On May 30, 2014, Judge Beryl Howell of the federal district court of the District of Columbia upheld the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) newly adopted HSR rule governing reporting of transfers of certain exclusive patent rights in the pharmaceutical industry. The rule was adopted in November of 2013. The Pharmaceutical…
On May 30, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) approved the merger between Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank, the two largest men’s wear companies without any conditions. On January 28, 2014, the FTC issued a second to request to review the transaction. After approximately four months, the FTC determined…
On April 18, 2014, China’s Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) unveiled the first tentative guideline for the simple merger review process: Filing parties may submit a written petition for simple merger before the actual submission of the merger case. The following documents, in both confidential and public versions, need to be…
On Feb. 13th, 2014, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) unveiled its long-awaited Interim Rule on Applicable Standards for Simple Merger Review Cases. While many interested groups hailed this development as a positive step taken by the MOFCOM towards a comprehensive “fast-track” review procedure for simple cases which exists in…
On February 10, 2014, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York dealt a blow to Apple in its efforts to have a court-appointed monitor removed from his position. The Second Circuit ruled that lawyer Michael Bromwich can continue to oversee the company’s antitrust compliance. While Apple wanted to…
On January 8, 2014, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) won its court challenge to Bazaarvoice’s consummated $168 million acquisition of PowerReviews. Background Bazaarvoice creates and markets online product reviews and ratings platforms, which allow Internet retailers to embed such reviews on their websites. PowerReviews, which was a privately held corporation,…