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. files antitrust lawsuit against Parker-Hannifin takeover.  The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday filed an antitrust lawsuit challenging Parker-Hannifin Corp.’s purchase of Clarcor Inc., which closed in February.  The lawsuit, brought in U.S. district court in Delaware, was filed out of concern that the $4.3 billion transaction would mean higher prices, worse service or less innovation in the market for aviation fuel filtration systems and products.  The department asked the court to order Parker-Hannifin to sell part of its aviation filtration business on grounds that it and Clarcor had been the only two U.S. manufacturers of the filtration products.

Google Proposes Remedy in Response to EU Antitrust Crackdown.  Google has proposed a remedy for its search results that European regulators have said favor its own shopping listings: holding an auction for those advertiser-paid spots.  But critics say the proposal still favors the deep-pocketed tech giant, and Europe’s top antitrust regulator is taking a wait-and-see attitude.  Google said Thursday it will still present users with photos and prices when they search for products online and offer a link directly to where they can be purchased.

US Senate confirms Delrahim to head Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  The U.S. Senate voted on Wednesday to confirm Makan Delrahim to head the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, which will decide the fate of deals like AT&T Inc.’s proposed purchase of Time Warner Inc. and the merger of Bayer AG and Monsanto Co.  The Senate voted 73 to 21 to confirm Delrahim.

Abbott wins U.S. antitrust approval to buy Alere with conditions.  Abbott Laboratories has won U.S. antitrust approval to buy Alere Inc. on condition that it sell two point-of-care medical testing businesses, the Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday.  Canada also announced on Thursday that it had approved the proposed transaction on similar terms.