DOCSLIB.ORG

2020 Antitrust Year in Review

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
2020 Antitrust Year in Review 2020 ANTITRUST YEAR IN REVIEW Austin Beijing Boston Brussels Hong Kong London Los Angeles New York Palo Alto San Diego San Francisco Seattle Shanghai Washington, DC Wilmington, DE Wilson Sonsini 2020 Antitrust Year in Review Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................1 Merger Enforcement ..................................................................................................................................................2 Guidance Galore: New Guidelines and HSR Rule Interpretation ..................................................................2 Vertical Merger Guidelines .........................................................................................................................2 Merger Remedies Guidelines ......................................................................................................................2 Changes in HSR Interpretation ..................................................................................................................3 Spotlight on Efficiencies Defenses ....................................................................................................................3 T-Mobile/Sprint .............................................................................................................................................3 Peabody Energy/Arch Resources ....................................................................................................................3 Traditional Merger Enforcement ..................................................................................................................... 4 FTC’s Winning Streak Ends....................................................................................................................... 4 Both Agencies Bring Hospital Merger Challenges .................................................................................. 4 Acquisitions of Nascent Competitors ....................................................................................................... 4 Unusual Actions ..................................................................................................................................................5 Consummated Merger Challenges .............................................................................................................5 The Historic Novelis/Aleris Arbitration ..................................................................................................... 6 International Mergers ....................................................................................................................................... 6 Spotlight on Data (Again) .......................................................................................................................... 6 EC’s Merger Review Under Judicial Scrutiny ........................................................................................... 6 Ramped-Up Enforcement in the UK: Redefining “Voluntary” .............................................................. 6 The UK: A Deal Graveyard? ........................................................................................................................7 Brexit and Its Impact on Global Deals .......................................................................................................7 Agency Investigations ...............................................................................................................................................7 U.S. Enforcement Agency Collaboration and Disagreement .........................................................................7 Collaboration Between the Federal Agencies ...........................................................................................7 FTC and DOJ Clash at Intersection of Antitrust and IP .......................................................................... 9 Federal Trade Commission ..............................................................................................................................10 Clarification of Authority to Seek Monetary Remedies .........................................................................10 Decisions Continued to Show Notable Party-Line Split ........................................................................10 Continued Emphasis on the Pharmaceutical Sector .............................................................................. 11 Department of Justice ....................................................................................................................................... 11 Wilson Sonsini 2020 Antitrust Year in Review Table of Contents (cont.) Renewed Focus on Financial Markets. .................................................................................................... 11 Continued Activity on Standard-Setting Organizations and Patent Licensing Issues ....................... 11 DOJ Continues Program to Terminate Decades-Old Consent Decrees ................................................12 DOJ Drops California Emissions Standards Investigation ....................................................................12 State Enforcement ............................................................................................................................................12 Competition and Collaboration with the Federal Agencies ..................................................................12 Civil Antitrust Enforcement Outside the United States ................................................................................13 European Union Investigations ...............................................................................................................13 EU Member State Investigations ..............................................................................................................14 Regulatory Efforts in Europe to Address the Digital Sphere .................................................................14 Growing Focus on Large Digital Platforms in Asia ................................................................................15 Criminal/Cartel Investigations ...............................................................................................................................15 Notable Developments in the DOJ’s Criminal Antitrust Enforcement Program ........................................15 Enforcement Priorities and Initiatives ....................................................................................................15 Administrative Updates.............................................................................................................................16 Legislative Developments .........................................................................................................................16 International Cooperation ........................................................................................................................16 Significant DOJ Investigations and Prosecutions ..........................................................................................16 Government Procurement ........................................................................................................................17 Generic Pharmaceuticals ..........................................................................................................................17 Hard Disk Drive Suspension Assemblies ................................................................................................18 Air Cargo and Auto Parts Executive Extraditions ..................................................................................18 Financial Services: FOREX ......................................................................................................................18 Food and Consumables .............................................................................................................................18 Construction ..............................................................................................................................................19 Health Care Staffing.................................................................................................................................. 19 Cartel Enforcement Outside of the U.S. .........................................................................................................19 European Union and United Kingdom ...................................................................................................19 Canada ....................................................................................................................................................... 20 South Korea ............................................................................................................................................... 20 Wilson Sonsini 2020 Antitrust Year in Review Table of Contents (cont.) Japan ...........................................................................................................................................................21 China ...........................................................................................................................................................21 Brazil ...........................................................................................................................................................21
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Market Definition and the Merger Guidelines
    ISSN 1936-5349 (print) ISSN 1936-5357 (online) HARVARD JOHN M. OLIN CENTER FOR LAW, ECONOMICS, AND BUSINESS MARKET DEFINITION AND THE MERGER GUIDELINES Louis Kaplow Discussion Paper No. 695 05/2011 Harvard Law School Cambridge, MA 02138 This paper can be downloaded without charge from: The Harvard John M. Olin Discussion Paper Series: http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/olin_center/ The Social Science Research Network Electronic Paper Collection: http://ssrn.com/ JEL Classes: D42, K21, L40 Market Definition and the Merger Guidelines Louis Kaplow* Abstract The recently issued revision of the U.S. Horizontal Merger Guidelines, like its predecessors and mirrored by similar guidelines throughout the world, devotes substantial attention to the market definition process and the implications of market shares in the market that is selected. Nevertheless, some controversy concerning the revised Guidelines questions their increased openness toward more direct, economically based methods of predicting the competitive effects of mergers. This article suggests that, as a matter of economic logic, the Guidelines revision can only be criticized for its timidity. Indeed, economic principles unambiguously favor elimination of the market definition process altogether. Accordingly, the 2010 revision is best viewed as a moderate, incremental, pragmatic step toward rationality, its caution being plausible only because of legal systems’ resistance to sharp change. Forthcoming, Review of Industrial Organization *Harvard University and National Bureau of Economic Research. I am grateful to the John M. Olin Center for Law, Economics, and Business at Harvard University for financial support. This article draws on Kaplow (2010, 2011). Market Definition and the Merger Guidelines Louis Kaplow © Louis Kaplow.
    [Show full text]
  • Hearing on Oligopoly Markets
    Unclassified DAF/COMP/WD(2015)45 Organisation de Cooperation et de Developpement Economiques Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 12-Jun-2015 English - Or. English DIRECTORATE FOR FINANCIAL AND ENTERPRISE AFFAIRS COMPETITION COMMITTEE HEARING ON OLIGOPOLY MARKETS -- Note by the United States -- 16-18 June 2015 This document reproduces a written contribution from the United States submitted for Item 5 of the 123rd meeting oft he OECD Competition Committee on 16-1 8 June 2015. More documents related to this discussion can be found at www.oecdorg/dajlcompetitionloligopoly-markets.htm. JT03378438 Complete document available on OLIS in its original format This document and any map included herein are with out prejudice to the status ofor sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name ofan y territory, city or area DAF/COMP/WD(2015)45 UNITED STATES 1. Following on our submissions to previous OECD roundtables on oligopolies, notably the 1999 submission of the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Oligopoly (describing the theoretical and economic underpinnings of U.S. enforcement policy with regard to oligopolistic behavior),1 and the 2007 U.S. submission on facilitating practices in oligopolies,2 this submission focuses on certain approaches taken by the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") and the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division ("DOJ'') (together, "the Agencies") to prevent the accumulation of unwarranted market power and address oligopoly issues. 2. Pursuant to U.S. competition policy, the Agencies can address the welfare-reducing effects of oligopoly behavior through enforcement as well as other means.
    [Show full text]
  • Federal Trade Commission Volume Decision
    FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION DECISIONS Findings, Opinions and Orders IN THE MATTER OF RUSSELL STOVER CANDIES, INC. FINAL ORDER, OPINION, ETC. , IN REGARD TO ALLEGED VIOLATION OF SEC. 5 OF THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ACT Docket 9140. Complaint, July 1980-Final Order, July , 1982 This order requires a Kansas City, Mo. manufacturer, seller and distributor of candy products to cease, among other things, entering into, maintaining, or enforcing any ageement, understanding or arrangement to fix resale prices for its products; suggesting resale prices, by any means, without clearly stating that they are merely suggested; and seeking information relating to recalcitrant retailers. The respondent is prohibited from terminating, sus pending or taking any other adverse action against retailers who fail to conform to company s suggested prices; and required to reinstate those retailers who had been terminated for non-conformance to designated prices. The order additionally requires respondent to pay for a survey to ascertain what percentage of its products is sold at manufacturer-designated prices, and to cease suggesting resale prices if that percentae exceeds 87. 4%. Appearances For the Commission: Eugene Kaplan, Jayma M. Meyer and Warren Josephson. For the respondent: Lawrence R. Brown and David Everson, Stinson, Mag Fizzell Kansas City, Mo. and Tom Franklin, in- house counsel, Kansas City, Mo. COMPLAINT Pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act as amended, and by virtue of the authority vested in it by said Act the Federal Trade Commission, having reason to believe that Russell Stover Candies, Inc. , a corporation, hereinafter referred to as respondent, has violated the provisions of said Act, and it appearing to the Commission that a proceeding by it in respect thereof would be in the public interest, hereby issues its complaint stating its charges in that respect as follows: FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION DECISIONS Initial Decision 100 F.
    [Show full text]
  • Mergers and Acquisitions
    Mergers and Acquisitions Antitrust Eric E. Johnson ericejohnson.com Konomark Most rights sharable Kinds of mergers • Horizontal mergers • Vertical mergers • Conglomerate mergers 1 Potential benefits of mergers • All kinds of efficiencies • Economies of scale • Preserving firms that would fail • The list is endless ... Potential problems with mergers • Unilateral effects – market/monopoly power of the merged firm • Oligopoly effects – concentration of a market that can cause prices to increase, either through: • purely self-interested/independent decision- making of firms, or • oligopolistic coordination (e.g., legal “conscious parallelism”) • According to research, five significant firms in a market tends to be enough to prevent oligopolistic coordination 2 Potential problems with mergers • Unilateral effects – market/monopoly power of the merged firm • Oligopoly effects – concentration of a market that can cause prices to increase, either through: • purely self-interested/independent decision- making of firms, or • oligopolisticis a coordinationmagic number (e.g., legal ... 5“conscious parallelism”) • According to research, five significant firms in a market tends to be enough to prevent oligopolistic coordination Applicable law • Mergers and acquisitions can be challenged under Sherman Act 1 or 2, or FTC Act 5, but generally they are challenged under the Clayton Act 7. • Clayton Act 7 allows the blocking of mergers and acquisitions where “the effect of such ... may be to substantially lessen competition, or tend to create a monopoly.” 3 Hart-Scott-Rodino Act 15 USC 18a Pre-merger filing with DOJ/FTC is required where: • the stock acquisition value exceeds $50M and the acquirer and target have assets or annual sales in excess of $10M for one and $100M for the other (either way), OR • the stock acquisition value exceeds $200M Amounts are in 2004 dollars.
    [Show full text]
  • The United States Has a Market Concentration Problem Reviewing Concentration Estimates in Antitrust Markets, 2000-Present
    THE UNITED STATES HAS A MARKET CONCENTRATION PROBLEM REVIEWING CONCENTRATION ESTIMATES IN ANTITRUST MARKETS, 2000-PRESENT ISSUE BRIEF BY ADIL ABDELA AND MARSHALL STEINBAUM1 | SEPTEMBER 2018 Since the 1970s, America’s antitrust policy regime has been weakening and market power has been on the rise. High market concentration—in which few firms compete in a given market—is one indicator of market power. From 1985 to 2017, the number of mergers completed annually rose from 2,308 to 15,361 (IMAA 2017). Recently, policymakers, academics, and journalists have questioned whether the ongoing merger wave, and lax antitrust enforcement more generally, is indeed contributing to rising concentration, and in turn, whether concentration really portends a market power crisis in the economy. In this issue brief, we review the estimates of market concentration that have been conducted in a number of industries since 2000 as part of merger retrospectives and other empirical investigations. The result of that survey is clear: market concentration in the U.S. economy is high, according to the thresholds adopted by the antitrust agencies themselves in the Horizontal Merger Guidelines. By way of background, recent studies of industry concentration conclude that it is both high and rising over time. For example, Grullon, Larkin, and Michaely conclude that concentration increased in 75% of industries from 1997 to 2012. In response to these and similar studies, the antitrust enforcement agencies recently declared that their findings are not relevant to the question of whether market concentration has increased because they study industrial sectors, not antitrust markets. Specifically, they wrote, “The U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Guidelines for Merger Analysis
    Guidelines for Merger Analysis Adopted by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission on 31 October 2014 Merger Guidelines_CCPC TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Elements of Merger Review ............................................................. 1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 1 Substantial Lessening of Competition ........................................................ 1 The Counterfactual ................................................................................. 3 Actual and Potential Competition .............................................................. 3 Market Definition .................................................................................... 4 Evidence ............................................................................................... 4 2. Market Definition ........................................................................... 6 Introduction .......................................................................................... 6 Product Market Definition ........................................................................ 7 Demand-side Substitution ....................................................................... 7 Supply-side Substitution ......................................................................... 9 Geographic Market Definition .................................................................. 10 3. Market Concentration .................................................................... 12
    [Show full text]
  • "Application of Part IV of the Trade Practices Act to Local Government"
    "Application of Part IV of the Trade Practices Act to Local Government" Michael Cosgrave Regional Director - Melbourne Application of National Competition Policy to Local Government Seminar 30 July 1996 Introduction As you are no doubt all aware, from 21 July 1996 the Trade Practices Act 1974 ("the Act") was further extended under National Competition Policy. All States except Western Australia have enacted legislation conforming with the Competition Policy Reform Act, thus extending the ambit of the Act to now include many previously exempt business activities of Australian Local Governments. The application of the Act is important for every one of you here today. A message that I want to impart to you today is that each local government is now going to be responsible for its the competition effects of its actions. The significance of the new coverage of the Act is that local governments now have to ensure that their legislation does not breach the Act and that its business organisations engage in fair trade practices. That said, the principles of the Act are nothing new for all local governments - many governments have been parties to contracts with corporations that are subject to the Act; furthermore, the provisions of the Act are basically common sense and basic fair trade principles. Claire Thomas this morning, and Professor Fels, the Chairman of the Commission, two months ago have discussed with you the position of Local Government under the NCP Reforms. Today I am going to go into more detail about Part IV of the Act, in particular, its application to Local Governments.
    [Show full text]
  • Criminal Sanctions for Cartel Behaviour
    CRIMINAL SANCTIONS FOR CARTEL BEHAVIOUR ANTHONY GRAY* I INTRODUCTION The Trade Practices Amendment (Cartel Conduct and Other Measures) Bill 2008 (Cth) controversially proposes the introduction of criminal sanctions for certain cartel behaviour. These measures were recommended by the Dawson Committee in its 2003 review, 1 and not surprisingly have the support of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).2 In this article, I will introduce the proposed new rules, 3 before assessing whether cartel conduct should be criminalised, in terms of traditional conceptions of what behaviour should be considered to be criminal in nature, as well as the likely effectiveness of the new regime in terms of deterring cartel behaviour, and enforcing cartel provisions more generally. II OUTLINE OF PROPOSED NEW RULES Proposed new s 44ZZRF of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) will make it an offence for an individual4 to: (a) make a contract or arrangement, or arrive at an understanding,5 with the intention of dishonestly6 obtaining a benefit,7 where * BBus (Acc), LLB (Hons), LLM (QUT), PhD (UNSW), Associate Professor in the School of Law, University of Southern Queensland. Thanks to an anonymous referee for helpful comments on an earlier draft. 1 Review of the Competition Provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (2003) (Dawson Review) Trade Practices Act Review <http://tpareview.treasury.gov.au/content/home.asp> at 8 November 2008; R Steinwall, ‘The Dawson Committee Review of the Competition Provisions of the Trade Practices Act’ (2003) 11 Competition and Consumer Law Journal 87. 2 Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Submission to the Trade Practices Act Review (2002) Trade Practices Act Review <http://tpareview.treasury.gov.au/submissions.asp> at 8 November 2008.
    [Show full text]
  • Monopsony Power in Health Care Markets: Must the Big Buyer Beware Hard Bargaining? Jack A
    Loyola University Chicago Law Journal Volume 18 Article 4 Issue 3 Spring 1987 Health Care Law Symposium 1987 Monopsony Power in Health Care Markets: Must the Big Buyer Beware Hard Bargaining? Jack A. Rovner Partner, Kirland & Ellis, Chicago, IL Follow this and additional works at: http://lawecommons.luc.edu/luclj Part of the Medical Jurisprudence Commons Recommended Citation Jack A. Rovner, Monopsony Power in Health Care Markets: Must the Big Buyer Beware Hard Bargaining?, 18 Loy. U. Chi. L. J. 857 (1987). Available at: http://lawecommons.luc.edu/luclj/vol18/iss3/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by LAW eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Loyola University Chicago Law Journal by an authorized administrator of LAW eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Monopsony Power in Health Care Markets: Must the Big Buyer Beware Hard Bargaining?* Jack A. Rovner** Increasingly, sellers of health care goods and providers of health care services invoke antitrust law to attack customers who refuse to pay as much or to buy in the same way as they had in the past.' * Copyright © 1987 by Jack A. Rovner. All rights reserved. ** Partner, Kirkland & Ellis, Chicago; B.A., Brandeis University, 1968; J.D., Bos- ton University, 1976. A preliminary draft of this article was presented at the National Health Lawyers Association Seminar, "Antitrust in the Health Care Field," January 28- 30, 1987. 1. Among the antitrust cases that have been brought by sellers of health care goods and providers of health care services against their customers are: (a) Pharmacists' attacks on insurer prepaid drug plans.
    [Show full text]
  • Comment on Proposed Horizontal Merger Guidelines of the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice
    HMG Revision Project–Comment Project No. P092900 Comment On Proposed Horizontal Merger Guidelines of the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice John E. Kwoka, jr.* Neal F. Finnegan Distinguished Professor of Economics Northeastern University June 2010 * My CV is available at www.ios.neu.edu/j.kwoka/ INTRODUCTION The Proposed Horizontal Merger Guidelines (HMG) released by the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice on April 20, 2010, are a welcome and useful updating of the Horizontal Merger Guidelines. The purpose of my comment at this time is to offer a proposal to enhance the effectiveness of these new Guidelines. Specifically, I would propose that any merger investigation henceforth should be accompanied by the requirement that the parties continue to provide data and information sufficient for the reviewing agency to evaluate its implementation of the Guidelines after the conclusion of any investigation raising significant competitive concerns. MOTIVATION Many areas of public policy are routinely subject to ex post evaluations. Such evaluations aid in understanding the effects of policy, and they also contribute to incremental improvements in policy over time. Antitrust policy is notable among important public policies in that it has not benefitted from systematic review of its effects. To be sure, there exist studies of individual mergers, but data, methodology, and certainly conclusions differ widely. The result is a lack of consistency and persuasiveness, which has in turn handicapped efforts at improving methods of analysis, enforcement techniques, and remedies. For these reasons many observers have long urged greater attention to evaluations of agency actions with respect to mergers.1 This dearth of ex post evaluations of antitrust policy contrasts sharply with another area of public policy toward industry, namely, economic regulation.
    [Show full text]
  • A Critique of the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index's Use
    Pace Law Review Volume 34 Issue 2 Spring 2014 Article 8 April 2014 When Bigger Is Better: A Critique of the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index’s Use to Evaluate Mergers in Network Industries Toby Roberts Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/plr Part of the Antitrust and Trade Regulation Commons, and the Business Organizations Law Commons Recommended Citation Toby Roberts, When Bigger Is Better: A Critique of the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index’s Use to Evaluate Mergers in Network Industries, 34 Pace L. Rev. 894 (2014) Available at: https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/plr/vol34/iss2/8 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Law at DigitalCommons@Pace. It has been accepted for inclusion in Pace Law Review by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Pace. For more information, please contact [email protected]. When Bigger Is Better: A Critique of the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index’s Use to Evaluate Mergers in Network Industries Toby Roberts* I. Introduction The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (“HHI”) operates under a very simple premise: industry behavior strongly correlates with industry structure; the larger a firm is within its industry, the more likely it is to engage in supracompetitive pricing or other anticompetitive conduct.1 For more than 30 years, antitrust regulators have used the index to gauge whether prospective mergers would produce a firm of such magnitude that it would adversely impact societal welfare. When an HHI analysis of an impending merger suggests that a potentially harmful increase in concentration will result, the companies involved must demonstrate that the merger has other characteristics that mitigate its impact on prices in order to gain regulatory approval.2 * Staff attorney at the California Court of Appeal and former law clerk at the United States District Court for the Central District of California and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
    [Show full text]
  • A Structured Outline for the Analysis of Horizontal Agreements
    A STRUCTURED OUTLINE FOR THE ANALYSIS OF HORIZONTAL AGREEMENTS by Thomas B. Leary* The antitrust principles applied to “horizontal” arrangements are difficult to summarize. The principles have evolved over an extended period of time and have been shaped by decisions that are often hard to reconcile. I do not claim that the structure outlined below is the only way to read cases or frame issues, but it is one that I believe is consistent with the most recent precedent and learning. I. Introduction An agreement between actual or potential competitors to restrain their rivalry in some respect is commonly called a “horizontal restraint.” This kind of agreement should be distinguished from so-called “vertical” restraints that govern the interface between supplier and customers (who may also be competitors in another capacity). The distinction is fundamental because horizontal and vertical restraints are analyzed in different ways.1 The most significant difference is that horizontal restraints are more likely to be deemed illegal per se and vertical restraints are more likely to be subject to the “rule of reason.” * Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission. This revision of a paper first presented a year ago has been prepared for distribution at The Conference Board 2004 Antitrust Conference (Mar. 3-4, 2004). I have benefitted from discussions with FTC Chairman Timothy Muris, General Counsel William Kovacic, and attorney advisors Thomas Klotz, Lisa Kopchik and Holly Vedova in the preparation of this outline, but it does not necessarily reflect their views or the views of anyone else in the Commission. 1 See, e.g., discussion in ABA SECTION OF ANTITRUST LAW, ANTITRUST LAW DEVELOPMENTS 79-82 (5th ed.
    [Show full text]