The Antitrust Week In Review

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

Twenty U.S. States Join Generic Drug Price-Fixing Lawsuit.  California, Illinois and 18 more states have joined a lawsuit filed last year alleging that six companies, including Mylan NV and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., conspired to push up prices of two generic drugs, the Connecticut attorney general’s office said on Wednesday.  Connecticut, which leads the group, and 19 other states filed the original lawsuit on Dec. 15.  The state lawsuit is part of a broader effort by the federal government, states and the U.S. Congress to address the rising cost of many generic drugs.

AT&T-Time Warner Deal May Have Easier Path to Approval.  AT&T’s $85 billion purchase of Time Warner may be getting an easier path to approval after the chief telecommunications regulator says it isn’t likely to review the deal.  Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai is telling The Wall Street Journal that the agency likely won’t be involved because of changes in the deal’s structure.

Connecticut Says Will Not Drop Opposition to Anthem/Cigna Deal.  Connecticut said on Wednesday it had no plans to drop its opposition to health insurer Anthem’s proposed purchase of rival Cigna, even if the U.S. Justice Department decides to settle with the companies.  Anthem, which lost a district court fight brought by the Justice Department and 11 states, has kept pressing its bid to buy Cigna by appealing a lower court injunction stopping the deal and by reaching out to the new administration of President Trump in hopes of hammering out a settlement.  Connecticut said it was not giving up.

Murdoch’s Fox Seeks EU Okay for $14.4 Billion Sky Takeover Bid.  Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox has asked EU antitrust regulators to approve its $14.4 billion takeover bid for European pay-TV company Sky, a filing on the European Commission showed on Friday.  The EU competition enforcer will decide by April 7 whether to clear the deal, demand concessions or kick off a five-month long investigation.