A View from Constantine Cannon’s London Office

By Yulia Tosheva and Richard Pike

The European Commission (“EC”) today imposed fines totalling 49,154,000 euros on Express Interfracht, part of the Austrian railway company Österreichische Bundesbahnen, and Schenker, a subsidiary of the leading German railway operator Deutsche Bahn, in a cartel settlement.

Express Interfracht and Schenker agreed to pay fines of 31,798,000 million euros and 17,356,000 million euros, respectively.  Although Kuhne+Nagel also participated in the cartel, it received full immunity for revealing the conspiracy to the EC.

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

MasterCard Faces Antitrust Charges in E.U.  European antitrust officials have filed formal charges against MasterCard, accusing the company of harming consumers and retailers by setting artificially high fees for credit card transactions in Europe.  The European Commission said MasterCard had prevented some retailers from processing transactions in countries with lower fees. The commission also said that MasterCard’s fees were unfair to tourists traveling in Europe.

FTC exploring Apple rules for streaming music rivals in App Store.  U.S. government antitrust regulators are investigating claims that Apple’s treatment of rival streaming music apps is illegal under antitrust law, according to industry sources.  Apple recently launched a new music streaming service, Apple Music.  It also provides the App Store platform for competing streaming services including Jango, Spotify, Rhapsody and others.

States line up to scrutinize Aetna’s $33 Billion Humana deal.  U.S. insurance regulators and state attorneys general are lining up to examine Aetna Inc’s proposed $33 billion takeover of rival Humana Inc. for potential harm to consumers, complicating what was already expected to be a tough review by federal antitrust authorities.  Insurance commissioners in 18 states including Texas, Kentucky and Florida will study merger documents provided by Humana to determine whether the deal will harm competition and lead to higher insurance premiums or diminished access to healthcare providers.  Moreover, while the U.S. Department of Justice is taking the lead on scrutinizing the transaction, at least three state attorneys general – in Florida, Mississippi and Massachusetts – have stated they will look at the proposed acquisition as well.

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

Judge Halts Sysco’s Proposed Merger With US Foods.  A federal judge has ordered a preliminary injunction to block Sysco’s proposed merger with US Foods, dealing a potentially fatal blow to what would be a union of the two biggest food distribution companies in the United States.  The injunction is a victory for the Federal Trade Commission, which sued in February to block the deal on the grounds that it would lead to higher prices and worse service for customers like restaurants and schools.

Anthem confident, but experts see antitrust hurdles to Cigna deal.  U.S. health insurer Anthem is dismissing concerns that buying smaller competitor Cigna would be considered anticompetitive, despite the view of antitrust experts that the combination would earn regulatory scrutiny.  Any merger could require asset sales and would be complicated by potential deals among other insurers.

Getty Images takes Google grievance to EU antitrust regulators.  Getty Images has become the latest company to take its grievances with Google to European Union antitrust regulators as it accused the world’s largest Internet search engine of favoring its own images service at the expense of rivals.  The complaint comes as the European Commission waits for Google to respond to charges of abusing its market power in a dozen EU countries since 2007 by distorting search results to favor its shopping service.

U.S. gov’t settles antitrust charges with three Michigan hospitals.  Although three Michigan hospital systems have settled charges by the U.S. Department of Justice that they violated antitrust law by agreeing not to advertise in each other’s areas, a fourth will fight the allegations.  Michigan’s Hillsdale Community Health Center, Community Health Center of Branch County, Michigan, and ProMedica Health System Inc, which has two hospitals in the area, are settling the charges.

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

Apple Music and Labels Investigated in 2 States.  The attorneys general of New York and Connecticut have been investigating Apple’s negotiations with music companies for possible antitrust violations.  The attorneys general wanted to know whether Apple pressured the music labels — or whether the labels conspired with Apple and one another — to withdraw support for popular “freemium” services offered by companies like Spotify in favor of Apple’s paid music subscriptions.

Amazon’s E-Books Business Investigated by European Antitrust Regulators.  European Union antitrust regulators are investigating whether Amazon used its dominant position in the region’s e-books market to favor its own products over rivals.  The European Commission is evaluating the legality of clauses that Amazon used with European publishers, which required them to inform the e-commerce giant when they offered more favorable terms for books to other digital retailers.

U.S. Antitrust Reviews of Mergers Get Longer.  While mergers and acquisitions have accelerated sharply since the financial crisis faded, the U.S. government has slowed its pace of reviewing proposed deals.  Deal reviews conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission this year have averaged more than 10 months, an increase from an average of seven months in recent years.

Gazprom has until mid-Sept to reply to EU antitrust charges.  Russian energy company Gazprom has been given until mid-September to respond to European Union antitrust charges of over-charging for gas in eastern and central Europe, and blocking competitors from entering the market.  Although the European Commission gave Gazprom 12 weeks to reply when it revealed the charges on April 22, companies typically ask for more time to marshal their legal and economic arguments when faced with complex issues.

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

Antitrust Scrutiny for 3 Big U.S. Theater Chains.  A federal investigation into whether the big movie theater chains are misusing their market clout to keep new films away from independent competitors is gaining steam.  Cinemark Holdings, the nation’s third-largest movie theater operator, disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had received a civil investigative demand for information from the antitrust division of the Justice Department.  Cinemark’s two bigger competitors, Regal Entertainment Group and AMC Entertainment, have already alerted shareholders to similar requests.

Privacy app maker files EU antitrust complaint against Google.  U.S. tech firm Disconnect has filed a complaint with EU antitrust regulators against Google’s ban on its privacy app, accusing the Silicon Valley giant of abusing its dominant market position.  Disconnect, which was set up four years ago by former Google engineers, says its app protects users of the Android operating system from invisible tracking and malware distributed through advertisements.  Disconnect claims that Google abused its position by blocking the app from the Google Play store last year, and gained an unfair advantage over competitors by integrating its own privacy and security services into its own products.

Motorola’s Antitrust Lawsuit May Head to Top Court.  The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to announce  later this month whether it will review a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit tossing out a civil antitrust suit by Motorola Mobility seeking damages from AU Optronics and other members of an alleged price-fixing cartel.  The appeals court held that Motorola’s overseas subsidiaries could not reap the benefits of America’s antitrust laws.  The decision, authored by prominent legal theorist Judge Richard A. Posner, has engendered a lively debate by antitrust scholars over the global reach of America’s antitrust laws.