The Antitrust Week In Review

Here are some of the developments in antitrust news this past week that we found interesting and are following.

Deutsche Telekom Said to Weigh New Antitrust Complaint Against Google.  Deutsche Telekom, the German telecom company, is expected to file a formal antitrust complaint against Google’s Android mobile software with European competition authorities in the coming weeks, according to sources.  Deutsche Telekom, which owns a controlling stake in T-Mobile US, the cellphone carrier, is an outspoken critic of United States tech companies’ dominance over how Europeans access online services.   The complaint, which may be submitted by early November, focuses on whether Google uses its Android mobile operating system to unfairly promote its own products like Google Maps and online search over those of rivals.

U.S. Judge Says Apple e-Books Antitrust Monitor’s Term to End.  U.S. District Judge Denise Cote  has agreed to not extend the term of a court-appointed monitor assigned to review Apple’s antitrust compliance program despite the difficult environment the monitor faced in dealing with the iPad maker.  The decision of the federal judge in Manhattan follows a recommendation by the U.S. Justice Department to not extend the appointment of Michael Bromwich, who was named monitor after Apple was found liable for conspiring to raise e-book prices.  The court noted that Bromwich had “persevered and made numerous recommendations to Apple for the improvement of its antitrust compliance program,” the vast majority of which Apple implemented.

AB InBev, SABMiller Brew Up $100 Billion Deal.  The world’s two biggest brewers have agreed to create a company making almost a third of the world’s beer after SABMiller accepted an offer worth more than $100 billion from larger rival Anheuser-Busch InBev.  There are significant antitrust hurdles to such a combination, particularly in the United States, where the companies would control about 70 percent of the beer market.  If the deal survives antitrust scrutiny, it would rank in the top five mergers in corporate history and be the largest takeover of a UK company.

Fantasy Sports Trade Association Subpoenaed by U.S. Prosecutor: WSJ.  The fantasy sports industry’s main trade association has been subpoenaed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tampa, Florida in an ongoing federal investigation into potential antitrust violations or fraud among the large fantasy sports sites, the Wall Street Journal reported.  The subpoena ordered the Fantasy Sports Trade Association to produce copies of the minutes of its board meetings, according to the report.