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

Apple’s Takeover of Shazam Is Cleared by European Regulators.  European authorities on Thursday cleared Apple’s acquisition of the popular song-recognition app Shazam, after months of study into whether the deal would give the iPhone maker an unfair advantage over rival streaming music services like Spotify. Apple said in December that it had agreed to buy Shazam, prompting European regulators to scrutinize the proposed takeover as part of a broader effort to examine the value of data when evaluating mergers. In the case of Apple’s deal for Shazam, regulators questioned whether the app held important information on Apple competitors. The focus on data transfer is a departure from typical antitrust enforcement, which tends to zero in on how a deal may affect customers in terms of a product’s cost.

Italian consumer group files complaint over Starbucks prices.  Italian consumer group Codacons has filed a complaint with the national competition watchdog accusing Starbucks of overcharging customers at its first cafeteria in the country. The world’s biggest coffee chain is making its first foray into the home of espresso coffee by opening an upmarket roastery in a central Milan square. Customers walking into the converted post office now housing the lavishly decorated cafe will pay 1.80 euros ($2.09) for an espresso, almost twice the normal market price.

Proposal Would Settle Chesapeake Lawsuit for $6.95 Million.  A proposed $6.95 million settlement has been filed to end a class-action lawsuit alleging Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy co-founders Aubrey McClendon and Tom Ward conspired to rig bids on leases for land to explore for oil and natural gas in northwestern Oklahoma and southwestern Kansas. The proposal filed late Wednesday in federal court calls for thousands of people in Oklahoma and Kansas to share in the settlement proceeds, and said it comes after two mediation sessions conducted earlier this year by a retired federal judge in Oklahoma City.

Germany seeks to curb internet giants’ dominance.  Germany, seeking to rein in internet giants like Google and Facebook, plans to bolster the powers of its competition watchdog to prevent such companies from becoming monopolies even before they achieve scale. The initiative, announced on Tuesday, could include blocking big players from taking over smaller rivals and follows up on a pledge by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition to curb big U.S. internet companies which, in the eyes of many German lawmakers, have become too powerful.

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

Apple to gain unconditional EU approval for Shazam buy: sources.  Apple is set to win unconditional EU antitrust approval for its planned acquisition of British music discovery app Shazam, two people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The deal, announced in December last year, would help the iPhone maker better compete with Spotify, the industry leader in music streaming services. Shazam identifies songs when a smartphone is pointed at an audio source.

Linde-Praxair try to save $83 billion merger after antitrust blow.  Industrial gases giants Linde and Praxair are in talks to try to salvage their $83 billion merger after U.S. competition regulators demanded they sell assets that generate more than $4.3 billion in sales. Linde said on Wednesday the divestments were expected to reach a level that would allow either party to abandon the deal, although the German company added that talks continued with both Praxair and regulators. Analysts said they still expected the deal to go ahead, though they cautioned the asset sales could make the deal less attractive and/or make synergy targets harder to achieve.

Antitrust Battle Next For Cigna After Shareholders Approve Express Scripts Deal.  Cigna and Express Scripts shareholders Friday approved the insurer’s acquisition of the pharmacy benefit manager, leaving the deal in the hands of antitrust regulators as the merger’s next key hurdle. Once billionaire investor Carl Icahn backed off his effort to derail the deal, shareholder approval became a formality given key proxy advisors gave the merger their blessing. But it’s less clear whether the merger will win approval of federal regulators with an influential Republican member of Congress calling for the U.S. Justice Department’s antitrust division to conduct a “rigorous review” of both the Cigna-Express Scripts merger and CVS Health’s proposed purchase of Aetna, the nation’s third largest health insurer.

Japan Pushing to End Smartphone Bundling, Cut Wireless Fees: Source.  Japan is aiming to force wireless carriers to cut their monthly fees and stop bundling the cost of smartphones with wireless services, a senior telecoms ministry source said on Tuesday, in a move that is likely to hit Apple Inc. Japan’s top wireless carriers, NTT Docomo Inc, KDDI Corp and SoftBank Group Corp, typically provide phones without upfront charges as part of fixed-term contracts that can cost as much as 10,000 yen ($90.51) a month. Customers effectively pay for handsets in installments. The government, which sees these contracts as muddying the cost of handsets and mobile fees and creating barriers for entry, wants carriers to charge separately for phones, the senior telecoms ministry source told Reuters.

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

U.S. court allows release of bench transcripts in AT&T merger fight.  An appeals court that is hearing the U.S. Justice Department’s fight with AT&T over its merger with Time Warner agreed on Friday to allow the release of transcripts of bench conferences that the public was unable to listen in on during the trial in a lower court. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said in an order on Friday that the government would be allowed to release transcripts of the conversations that generally occurred between Judge Richard Leon, who tried the case, and one or more lawyers from the Justice Department, AT&T and Time Warner. Judge Leon ruled in June that the Justice Department was wrong to ask that a $85.4 billion merger of AT&T, which owns DirecTV, and Time Warner be blocked.

DOJ Opens Review of Hollywood Antitrust Regulations.  Signaling that the antitrust regulations that have governed movie distribution for the last seven decades may be ripe for revision, the Department of Justice on Thursday opened a review of the famed Paramount Decrees. The 1948 landmark Supreme Court decision of United States v. Paramount, known as “the Paramount Decrees,” effectively ended the old Hollywood system, outlawing such practices as “block booking,” in which studios required theaters to book a bundle of their films. It was part of antitrust efforts to prohibit the major studios from also controlling the country’s movie theaters.

Credit Suisse charged with rigging foreign exchange rates.  Credit Suisse has been charged by European Union antitrust regulators with rigging foreign exchange rates, the Swiss bank said on Tuesday, a sign that the five-year long EU investigation may reach a conclusion in the coming months. Credit Suisse said in its quarterly report it received notification from the European Commission on July 26 alleging that it “engaged in anticompetitive practices in connection with its foreign exchange trading business”. EU enforcers typically lay out charges of illegal activities conducted by companies before imposing fines which can reach 10 percent of their global turnover.

Linde says regulators likely to demand more divestitures in Praxair deal.  German industrial gases group Linde said it and U.S. rival Praxair may need to sell more assets than anticipated to secure antitrust approval for their planned $87 billion tie-up, which could scupper the deal. The planned combination in an all-shares merger, agreed in principle in December 2016, would create a global leader in gas distribution ahead of France’s Air Liquide.

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

E.U. Fines Google $5.1 Billion in Android Antitrust Case.  European authorities fined Google a record $5.1 billion on Wednesday for abusing its power in the mobile phone market and ordered the company to alter its practices, in one of the most aggressive regulatory actions against American technology giants and one that may force lasting changes to smartphones. The European Union’s antitrust fine of 4.34 billion euros was almost double the bloc’s fine against Google last year over the company’s unfair favoring of its own services in internet search results. The penalty’s size highlighted Europe’s increasingly bold stance against the power of American tech firms, even as officials in the United States have taken a largely hands-off approach to the companies.

Qualcomm disappointed with continuing EU probe into pricing case.  U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm on Thursday expressed disappointment with EU antitrust regulators’ decision to continue an investigation in a case where it has been accused of charging below cost prices to stymy British phone software maker Icera.  “While the investigation has been narrowed, we are disappointed to see it continues and will immediately begin preparing our response to this supplementary statement of objections,” Qualcomm general counsel Don Rosenberg said in a statement.

Comcast concedes to Disney in bidding war for Fox assets.  Comcast Corp. dropped its $66 billion bid for Twenty-First Century Fox Inc.’s entertainment assets on Thursday but said it would still try to expand its international footprint by acquiring 61 percent of European broadcaster Sky Plc, the remainder of which is owned by Fox. Comcast’s withdrawal is a concession to Walt Disney Co (DIS.N), which last month sweetened its offer for the Fox assets to $71.3 billion, in a bid to unite two storied Hollywood studios and several television networks under one corporate umbrella.

U.S. Tech Enforcer Says Will Read ‘Closely’ EU Statement on Google.  The head of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which has investigated Alphabet’s Google in the past for abuse of web dominance, said on Wednesday he would take a close look at Europe’s recent decision to fine the company 4.34 billion euros ($5 billion). Speaking at a hearing in Capitol Hill, FTC Chairman Joseph Simons said he had spoken on Tuesday with EU antitrust chief, Margrethe Vestager. “We’re going to read what the EU put out very closely,” Simons told a subcommittee of the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee.

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

EU Google decision delayed to next week, source says, as Trump visits.  EU antitrust regulators have postponed to next week a finding against Google’s Android mobile operating system, a person familiar with the matter said, avoiding any clash with a visit to Brussels by U.S. President Donald Trump. The European Commission had scheduled a meeting of national competition agencies for Tuesday to brief them on the case, including what is expected to be a record-breaking fine against Alphabet unit Google. But the meeting has been rescheduled to July 17, the person said, without giving a reason for the change. Other sources said they expected a delay due to the presence of Trump, who is due to attend a NATO summit in Brussels this week.

Justice Department to Appeal Approval of AT&T Acquisition of Time Warner.  The U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday it would appeal a federal judge’s approval of AT&T Inc.’s $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner, raising the prospect barely a month after the deal closed that it could be undone. AT&T was sued by the Justice Department on antitrust grounds, saying that the deal would harm consumers, but U.S. District Judge Richard Leon last month approved the deal, allowing it to move forward following a lengthy trial. The merger, first announced in October 2016, was also opposed by President Donald Trump. Leon ruled that the tie-up between AT&T’s wireless and satellite businesses with Time Warner’s movies and television shows was legal under antitrust law.

Japan watchdog: Apple may have breached antitrust rules with iPhone.  Japanese regulators said on Wednesday Apple Inc may have breached antitrust rules by forcing mobile service providers to sell its iPhones cheaply and charge higher monthly fees, denying consumers a fair choice. The Fair Trade Commission said that the Japanese unit of Apple had forced NTT Docomo Inc., KDDI Corp. and SoftBank Group Corp. to offer subsidies and sell iPhones at a discount. “Obliging carriers to offer subsidies (for iPhones) could have prevented the carriers from offering lower monthly charges and restricted competition,” the FTC said in a statement.

Siemens, Alstom deal faces full-scale EU antitrust probe: sources.  Siemens and Alstom are set to face a full-scale EU antitrust investigation this week after declining to provide concessions to allay regulatory concerns about their plan to combine their rail operations, two people familiar with the matter said. German industrial group Siemens and French rival Alstom want to create a Franco-German rail champion to compete more effectively with bigger rival CRRC and Canada’s Bombardier Transportation. The companies had until July 6 to offer concessions to the European Commission but did not do so. Some firms prefer to wait for the EU antitrust enforcer to set out possible anti-competitive issues so they can tailor concessions to address them.