The Antitrust Week In Review

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

EU Watchdog Could Expand Criteria to Initiate Merger Reviews.  European Union antitrust regulators are considering expanding the criteria that requires companies to seek merger approval in an effort to ensure deals involving start-ups producing key data or products do not slip through the net.  Under current rules, the European Commission only examines deals involving companies that exceed a minimum revenue threshold, meaning that some businesses have escaped scrutiny from the EU watchdog.  For example, Facebook’s $19 billion bid for mobile messaging start-up WhatsApp was not examined by the EU competition authority until the case was referred to it by national antitrust agencies two years ago.

Supreme Court Declines to Hear Apple’s Appeal in E-Book Pricing Case.  The Supreme Court has refused to review an appeals court’s determination that Apple conspired with book publishers to raise the prices of digital books.  The court’s order puts into effect a $450 million settlement that Apple had agreed to pay if it lost the case.  E-book buyers will receive $400 million in cash and credits, and lawyers involved in the case will get $50 million.

Merger ‘Tsunami’ Taxes Resources of U.S. Antitrust Regulators.  U.S. antitrust enforcers are dealing with a “tsunami” of high-value, complicated mergers that have stretched their resources, according to the heads of the U.S. Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission.  Some of the increased volume of mergers has been attributed to investors who have reacted to the improving economy.