The Antitrust Week In Review

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

AB InBev to Sell More SAB Assets as Seeks EU Deal Approval.  Brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev plans to sell the eastern European assets of SABMiller, which could fetch almost $8 billion, as it seeks European regulatory approval for its $100 billion-plus takeover of its closest rival.  AB InBev has already lined up Japan’s Asahi Group Holdings to buy SABMiller’s Grolsch, Peroni and Meantime brands for 2.55 billion euros ($2.90 billion), and said on Friday it had put up for sale SABMiller’s business in Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.  AB InBev, maker of Budweiser and Stella Artois, has barely any business in eastern Europe outside Russia and Ukraine, so analysts say the sale is more about preventing regulatory delays and exiting weak spots than ensuring market competition.

Regulators Approve Charter Communications Deal for Time Warner Cable.  Federal regulators have moved to approve Charter Communications’ $65.5 billion acquisitions of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, enabling the creation of a new cable giant as the industry focuses more on broadband as traditional TV declines.  However, the orders to approve the deals are coupled with many restrictions that illustrate how regulators are increasingly using their power to further policy goals that are not covered by current regulations for the industry.  The Federal Communications Commission and Justice Department imposed mandates on the acquisitions aimed at protecting streaming video companies and providing cheaper broadband services to low-income families, some of which go far beyond regulations for the entire cable and Internet sectors.

Markit, ISDA Offer Concessions to Settle EU Antitrust Charges.  The European Commission has revealed that Data company Markit and trade body ISDA have offered concessions in a bid to settle EU antitrust charges and stave off possible fines.  The competition authority three years ago charged the two companies and 13 banks with blocking Deutsche Boerse from the lucrative credit derivatives market in 2007 and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in 2008.  The Commission dropped the banks from the case in December because of insufficient evidence but Markit and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, which represents firms involved in the derivatives market, remained in its sights.