The Antitrust Week In Review

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

U.S. sues to stop western hospital system from buying clinics.  U.S. antitrust enforcers have filed a complaint aimed at stopping a big hospital system in the western United States from buying a series of clinics.  The lawsuit is aimed at stopping Sanford Health, which has more than 40 hospitals and 250 clinics, from buying Mid Dakota Clinic, which has eight facilities primarily in Bismarck, North Dakota, the Federal Trade Commission said.  The FTC, which sued along with the North Dakota attorney general’s office, said that the merger would sharply reduce competition to provide a broad range of medical services in Bismarck and the surrounding area.

U.S. to seek to block DraftKings, FanDuel fantasy sports merger.  The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said it will seek to stop the merger of DraftKings and FanDuel, because the combined company would control more than 90 percent of the U.S. market for paid daily fantasy sports contests.  The FTC, along with the attorneys general of California and the District of Columbia, will file a complaint in federal district court seeking a preliminary injunction to block the deal, the antitrust regulator said.

Judge Blocks Merger of Nuclear-Waste Disposal Companies.  A federal judge in Delaware has blocked a Utah-based nuclear waste disposal company from buying a Texas-based competitor.  The judge on Wednesday ruled in favor of the U.S. Justice Department in an antitrust lawsuit aimed at blocking Salt Lake City-based EnergySolutions’ planned $367 million acquisition of rival Waste Control Specialists, based in Dallas.

Bayer CEO says talks with EU over Monsanto deal constructive.  Bayer’s chief executive said talks with the EU Commission over the antitrust scrutiny of the German drugmaker’s planned takeover of U.S. seeds maker Monsanto were “very good and constructive,” confirming a target to wrap up the deal by year-end.  Bayer still expects to be able to file for regulatory approval in Europe by the end of June, and CEO Werner Baumann reiterated that EU regulators would likely launch an in-depth analysis of the transaction, which will create the world’s largest supplier in the combined seeds and crop chemicals market.