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

Dow, DuPont Set $130 Billion Megamerger, Could Spark More Deals.  Chemical giants DuPont and Dow Chemical Co have agreed to combine in an all-stock merger valued at $130 billion in a first step toward breaking up into three separate businesses, a move that pleased activist investors and could trigger more consolidation.  A Wells Fargo analyst dubbed this proposed combination of two of the biggest and oldest U.S. chemical producers the “deal of three centuries.”  However, analysts think the deal is likely to face intense regulatory scrutiny, especially with respect to the combination of the companies’ agricultural businesses, which sell seeds and crop protection chemicals, including insecticides and pesticides.

Qualcomm is Accused of Violating Antitrust Rules in Europe.  The European Commission has filed antitrust charges against the chip maker Qualcomm, the latest in a growing number of competition investigations targeting American technology companies.  Europe’s antitrust officials accuse Qualcomm, one of the world’s largest makers of chips, of abusing its dominant market position in the region by offering financial incentives to smartphone and tablet manufacturers that agreed to buy equipment solely from Qualcomm.  The company’s chips are widely used in smartphones and other mobile devices.

Judge Restores U.S. Airways’ Damages Claims in Sabre Antitrust Case.  A federal judge has restored US Airways Inc’s ability to seek about $210 million of damages in its antitrust lawsuit accusing Sabre Corp of inflating booking fees, even after the carrier had waived damages exceeding a mere $20.  Saying the case mattered to consumers hoping to keep down the cost of flying, U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield in Manhattan said “the interest of justice would be best served” by letting US Airways, now part of American Airlines Group Inc, seek meaningful, rather than nominal, damages.  US Airways alleges that Sabre charged inflated fees and suppressed competition, impeding travel agents and others from using cheaper alternative means to book seats.

GE Scraps $3.3 Billion Appliance Unit Sale to Electrolux.  GE has scrapped a $3.3 billion plan to sell its home appliance business to the Swedish company Electrolux, a deal opposed by U.S. regulators over antitrust concerns.  Electrolux is the world’s second-biggest home appliance maker after U.S. rival Whirlpool.  It sells most of its products in the U.S. under the Frigidaire brand.  The U.S. Department of Justice was suing to stop the deal, claiming that it would have eliminated a major competitor and left Electrolux and Whirlpool as the only big companies in the U.S. selling cooking appliances such as ovens and ranges.

By Allison F. Sheedy

The Federal Trade Commission filed an administrative complaint yesterday seeking to block Staples, Inc.’s proposed $6.3 billion acquisition of rival Office Depot, Inc., claiming the merger would violate the antitrust laws by significantly reducing competition nationwide in the market for “consumable” office supplies sold to large business customers for their own use.

The FTC’s action is not surprising given Staples—the world’s largest seller of office products and services—is attempting to acquire its closest competitors in the sale of consumable office supplies to large business customers.  “The Commission has reason to believe that the proposed merger between Staples and Office Depot is likely to eliminate beneficial competition that large companies rely on to reduce the costs of office supplies,” said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez in a statement.

While Staples and Office Depot argued that their union would create a better opportunity to serve their customers through savings and lower prices, the FTC disagreed, and could not be appeased by the companies’ offer to divest a substantial amount of assets, including transferring $600 million in corporate office supply contracts to a wholesaler.

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

Senate calls hearing in Anheuser-Busch InBev mega beer deal.  Anheuser-Busch InBev’s bid to buy its biggest rival, SABMiller, will be the subject of a U.S. Senate hearing this week.  AB InBev, whose takeover of SABMiller would be one of the largest mergers in corporate history, announced last month that it would buy SABMiller for $106 billion.  AB InBev also said that it agreed to sell SABMiller ‘s stake in U.S. venture MillerCoors to help win regulatory approval.

States Take Closer Look at Regulatory Boards After Ruling.  States are taking a closer look at boards and commissions regulating everything from dentists to dietitians after the U.S. Supreme Court said some panels could be violating antitrust laws.  The concern is that boards made up of practicing professionals may be trying to put competitors out of business through cease-and-desist letters and other actions.

DOJ antitrust unit subpoenas Mylan over pricing of doxycycline.  The antitrust division of the U.S. Department of Justice has subpoenaed Mylan N.V. for information relating to the pricing and marketing of its generic doxycycline antibiotic products.  The Department of Justice has also sought information on any communication with competitors about the anti-bacterial products, the company said in a regulatory filing, adding it would cooperate with federal regulators.  The nearly 40-year-old antibiotic is used to treat bacterial infections such as acne, pneumonia, Lyme disease, chlamydia and syphilis.

Staples ready to sell more assets for Office Depot deal approval: Bloomberg.  Office supplies retailer Staples Inc. is willing to sell more assets to win antitrust approval for its $6.3 billion takeover of Office Depot Inc., Bloomberg reported on Thursday.  Under the deal announced in February, Staples had offered to divest about half of Office Depot’s assets with revenues of up to $1.25 billion.  In talks with the FTC, which is scrutinizing the deal, the company has already offered to divest assets worth half that amount, according to Bloomberg.

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

U.S. probing Comcast’s role in ‘spot’ cable ad sales market.  The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether Comcast Corp, the biggest U.S. cable TV provider, is blocking competition in cable advertising sales, according to a source.  The DOJ’s Antitrust Division reportedly has sent civil investigative demands to video distribution companies in an effort to discover whether Comcast was seeking to dominate the “spot” cable ad sales business in areas where Comcast offers service.  The spot cable advertising market has been estimated to be worth $5.4 billion nationally.

Microsoft settles suit tied to compliance with EU antitrust case.  Microsoft has settled a lawsuit stemming from a costly violation of its agreement with European Union antitrust regulators to offer consumers the option of using other companies’ Web browsers.  A federal judge in Seattle this given preliminary approval to a settlement between Microsoft shareholders and the company that will create an office responsible for monitoring the company’s compliance with antitrust regulations.  Microsoft will establish an Antitrust Compliance Office to oversee compliance with any EU or U.S. antitrust matters, and dedicate up to $42.5 million over a five-year period to funding the effort.

Ball offers to sell 11 plants in bid for EU Okay for Rexam Buy-Sources.  U.S. drinks can maker Ball Corp is ready to sell 11 plants in Europe in a bid to convince European Union antitrust regulators to approve its 4.43 billion pound offer for British peer Rexam, according to sources.  The world’s two largest beverage can makers reportedly want to merge to better manage capital spending and cut costs.  However, the European Commission fears the deal would push up prices for companies and consumers.

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

Consumers lose U.S. appeal over credit card arbitration clauses.  The credit card industry won a big legal victory as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit  rejected claims by a group of consumers that big issuers colluded to require that disputes be settled in arbitration rather than through class action lawsuits.  The appellate court upheld the district court’s ruling that American Express, Citigroup and Discover Financial Services did not violate antitrust law in forcing cardholders to submit to arbitration.  Consumers argued that card-issuing banks and their lawyers broke the law when they held 28 meetings from May 1999 to October 2003 to discuss how to impose mandatory arbitration clauses in cardholder agreements.

Google to contest Russia’s antitrust ruling on Android.  Google has announced that it will contest in court a ruling by Russia’s antitrust agency that it broke competition law by abusing its dominant position with its Android mobile platform.  Russia’s competition watchdog ruled in September that Google had broken the law by requiring pre-installation of certain applications on mobile devices running on Android.

States Urged to Review Health Insurer Mergers.  Consumer advocates and antitrust experts are urging state regulators to closely examine the proposed mergers of major health insurance companies, saying they threaten to leave consumers with fewer choices and higher prices.  Some consumer groups are concerned about merger proposals involving the nation’s largest health insurers that would result in three behemoths: Anthem with Cigna, Aetna with Humana and the unpartnered UnitedHealth Group.