The Antitrust Week in Review

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

NY’s top prosecutor targets NFL in antitrust probe – source.  New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is reportedly conducting an antitrust investigation of the NFL and its practice of imposing “price-floors” on certain tickets as part of an ongoing probe into the online ticketing market.  The antitrust investigation grew out of a probe by the attorney general’s office into irregularities in the ticketing industry, which found that ticket brokers were using illegal software programs to snap up thousands of tickets and reselling them with huge price markups.

EU Slaps $150 Million Cartel Fine on Car Parts Producers.  The European Union is fining two Japanese car part producers $150 million for fixing prices for alternators and starters for more than half a decade.  Melco will have to pay the biggest fine of 110.9 million euros, with Hitachi having to pay 26.9 million euros.  A third company, Denso, was not fined since it disclosed the case to the EU’s antitrust office.  Although the collusion may have occurred outside of the 28-nation EU, EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said that her office would still pursue the case since EU consumers were hurt by artificially high prices.

Exclusive: EU to give unconditional approval to Schlumberger deal – sources.  The world’s biggest oilfield services company, Schlumberger, is set to gain unconditional EU approval for its $14.8 billion bid for equipment maker Cameron International Corp, according to sources.  The acquisition will enable Schlumberger to offer a broader range of products at lower prices to oil companies, which are slashing spending in response to falling oil prices, and boost its market share.  Some antitrust experts have said the two U.S. companies offer complementary product lines, meaning the deal would draw less regulatory scrutiny.