The Antitrust Week In Review

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

Consumer coalition forms to fight health insurance mergers.  Two U.S. consumer groups have formed a coalition with New York labor unions to press antitrust regulators to oppose big insurance mergers that would cut the number of nationwide for-profit health insurers from five to three.  The Coalition to Preserve Patient Choice, made up of the Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Action and others, was formed because of concern about Anthem Inc’s purchase of Cigna Corp for $47 billion and Aetna Inc’s decision to buy Humana Inc for $37 billion, according to the coalition.

US Sues Over Proposed Deal Between United, Delta at Newark.  The federal government wants to block a deal that would strengthen United Airlines’ control over Newark Liberty International Airport, saying that it would drive up fares that are already high.  The U.S. Department of Justice Department is suing to block a deal that would let United acquire 24 takeoff and landing slots at Newark from Delta Air Lines.  According to federal officials, United already controls 73 percent of the slots at the airport, which serves 35 million passengers a year.

Barclays to pay $120 million in U.S. Libor litigation: lawyers.  Barclays has agreed to pay $120 million to settle private U.S. litigation accusing it of conspiring with rivals to rig the benchmark interest rate known as Libor, according to lawyers for the plaintiffs.  The British bank is the first to resolve claims by so-called “over-the-counter” investors that transacted directly with banks comprising a panel to determine Libor, or the London Interbank Offered Rate.  Libor is used to set rates on hundreds of trillions of dollars of transactions, including for credit cards, student loans and mortgages.

Staples, Office Depot in talks to transfer corporate contracts: WSJ.  Staples and Office Depot, which are seeking to merge, are in talks with wholesaler Essendant to transfer about $600 million of corporate contracts to satisfy U.S antitrust concerns, according to the Wall Street Journal.  The terms of the divestiture proposal could change during talks with Federal Trade Commission officials, the Journal said, citing sources.  However, it is uncertain whether the concessions will satisfy the FTC.