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Division Highlights
Criminal
Justice Department Investigates Price-Fixing and Bid-Rigging in the Auto Parts Industry
At a press briefing on September 29, 2011, Acting Assistant Attorney General Sharis A. Pozen announced the first charges stemming from the Department’s investigation into the auto parts industry. As a result of the ongoing investigation, three Japanese suppliers of automotive components and eight Japanese executives have pleaded guilty to price-fixing and bid-rigging in the sale of parts to United State automobile manufacturers. The companies agreed to pay a total of $748 million criminal fines, including the second largest criminal fine ever for an antitrust violation. The executives agreed to serve prison time in the United States ranging from a year and a day to two years. The two-year sentences would be the longest term of imprisonment imposed on a foreign national voluntarily submitting to U.S. jurisdiction for a Sherman Act antitrust violation.
Press Releases
March 26, 2012
January 30, 2012
September 29, 2011
Comment
January 30, 2012
Justice Department Investigates Anticompetitive Conduct in the Municipal Bonds Industry
The Department’s ongoing investigation into anticompetitive conduct in municipal bonds investment markets has resulted in criminal charges against 18 former executives of various financial services companies and one corporation. Twelve of the 18 executives charged have pleaded guilty. Approximately $745 million in restitution, penalties, and disgorgement to Federal and State agencies have been obtained through resolutions with financial services companies for their roles in the conduct.
Press Releases
January 9, 2012
December 30, 2011
December 23, 2011
December 8, 2011
July 7, 2011
May 4, 2011
Justice Department Investigates Bid-Rigging at Public Real Estate Foreclosure Auctions
To date, a total of 38 individuals and one company have been charged in the Department’s ongoing investigation into bid-rigging and mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Alabama and California.
Press Releases
February 24, 2012
February 9, 2012
January 27, 2012
December 13, 2011
Five Individuals Indicted for Bid Rigging and Fraud at Public Real Estate Foreclosure Auctions
December 2, 2011
October 27, 2011
September 30, 2011
September 23, 2011
California Real Estate Investor Pleads Guilty to Bid Rigging at Public Foreclosure Auctions
September 15, 2011
August 12, 2011
Real Estate Investor Pleads Guilty to Bid Rigging at Public Foreclosure Auctions
June 30, 2011
California Real Estate Investors Agree to Plead Guilty to Bid Rigging at Public Foreclosure Auctions
Justice Department Brings More Charges in Its Investigation into Price-Fixing of Refrigerant Compressors
As a result of the Department’s ongoing investigation into the worldwide refrigerant compressors market, in 2011, one company and three former executives were charged with participating in a conspiracy to coordinate price increases for refrigerant compressors to customers in the United States and elsewhere.
In 2010, Panasonic Corporation and Embraco North America Inc. pleaded guilty and were sentenced to pay a total of $140.9 million criminal fines.
Press Releases
October 4, 2011
September 27, 2011
Policy
Antitrust Division Updates Merger Remedies Guide
The Division released an updated policy guide to merger remedies that reflects the changes in the merger landscape and the lessons the Division has learned from the remedies it has entered into since the issuance of the original guide in 2004. The remedies guide also stresses the role of the recently created Office of the General Counsel, which is principally responsible for enforcement of Division consent decrees.
Press Release
June 17, 2011
Antitrust Division Issues Updated Merger Remedies Guide
Document
Antitrust Division Policy Guide to Merger Remedies
The Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission Issue Statement of Antitrust Policy Enforcement Regarding Accountable Care Organizations
The Division and the Federal Trade Commission issued the final joint policy statement that describes how the agencies will enforce U.S. antitrust laws with respect to new accountable care organizations (ACOs). The policy will help health care providers form precompetitive ACOs that benefit both Medicare and private health insurance patients while protecting health care consumers from higher costs and lower quality.
Press Release
October 20, 2011
Document
Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission Sign Antitrust Memorandum of Understanding with Chinese Antitrust Agencies
The United States and China signed an antitrust memorandum of understanding (MOU) to promote communication and cooperation among the agencies in the two countries. The MOU provides for periodic, high-level consultations among the five agencies as well as facilitates communication through information exchanges about competition law enforcement and policy developments, training programs to increase agency effectiveness, providing comments on proposed laws, regulations and guidelines, and cooperation on specific investigations of mutual interest.
Press Release
July 27, 2011
Document
The United States and European Union Antitrust Agencies Revise Merger Review Best Practices and Celebrate 20th Anniversary of Cooperation Agreement
The Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, and the European Commission issued an updated set of “best practices” for coordination of merger reviews. The agencies also celebrated the 20th anniversary of the United States-European Union bilateral antitrust agreement. The revised practices provide more guidance to firms about coordination of transaction reviews with the agencies, recognize that transactions reviewed by the United States and European Union authorities may also be subject to antitrust review in other countries, and place greater emphasis on coordination among the agencies at key stages of their investigations.
Press Release
October 14, 2011
Document
Best Practices on Cooperation in Merger Investigations
Civil Merger
AT&T Abandons Its Proposed Acquisition of T-Mobile After Division Files an Antitrust Lawsuit
On August 31, 2011, Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole and Acting Assistant Attorney General Sharis A. Pozen announced that the Division filed an antitrust lawsuit to block AT&T Inc.’s acquisition of T-Mobile USA. The Department said that the proposed $39 billion transaction would reduce competition for mobile wireless telecommunications services across the United States, resulting in higher prices, poorer quality services, fewer choices, and fewer innovative products for millions of American consumers. In the face of the Division’s antitrust lawsuit, AT&T eventually abandoned its proposed acquisition of T-Mobile.
Press Releases
December 19, 2011
August 31, 2011
Comments
August 31, 2011
Justice Department Files Antitrust Lawsuit and Successfully Litigates Case Against H&R Block’s Acquisition of TaxACT
The Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit to block the acquisition of TaxACT by H&R Block Inc. The Division said that the proposed acquisition would reduce competition in the U.S. digital do-it-yourself tax preparation software market, resulting in higher prices and reduced innovation for consumers. The trial began on September 6, 2011, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and lasted several weeks. On November 10, 2011, the court publicly issued its opinion to prevent H&R Block’s proposed acquisition of TaxACT.
Press Release
May 23, 2011
Justice Department Files Antitrust Lawsuit to Stop H&R Block Inc. from Buying TaxAct
Comment
May 23, 2011
Justice Department Requires Google to Develop and License Travel Software in Order to Proceed with Its Acquisition of ITA Software
The Division announced that in order for Google Inc. to proceed with its acquisition of ITA Software Inc., Google is required to develop and license travel software, establish internal firewall procedure, and continue software research and development. The proposed settlement will protect competition for airfare comparison and booking websites and ensures that the websites using ITA’s software will be able to power their websites to compete against a potential Google airfare website. The Department said that the original acquisition would reduce competition among providers of comparative flight search websites in the United States, resulting in less choice and innovation for consumers.
Press Release
April 8, 2011
CPTN and Novell Change Deal in Order to Address Justice Department’s Open Source Concerns
In order to proceed with the first phase of their acquisition of certain patents and patent applications from Novell Inc., CPTN Holdings LLC and its owners have altered their original agreements to address the Department’s antitrust concerns. The Department said that the original deal would jeopardize the ability of open source software to continue to innovate and compete in the development and distribution of server, desktop, and mobile operating systems, middleware, and virtualization products. Although the Department allowed the transaction to proceed, it continues to investigate the distribution of the Novell patents to the CPTN owners.
Press Release
April 20, 2011
Justice Department Reaches Settlement for Acquisition of the Tyson Foods Processing Plant by George’s
In May 2011, George’s Inc. acquired Tyson Foods Inc.’s chicken processing plant in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and the Department learned of the transaction, which was not required to be reported under the premerger notification law, shortly before it was completed. In response, the Department filed a lawsuit alleging that the acquisition would likely have the anticompetitive effect of reducing the prices paid to Shenandoah Valley area farmers who raise chickens for processors such as Tyson Foods and George’s.
The Division required George’s to make capital improvements to the Tyson Foods chicken processing plant in Harrisonburg in order to settle the acquisition of the plant by George’s. The Department said the settlement will avert the likely adverse competitive effects that would arise from the proposed acquisition.
Press Releases
June 23, 2011
Justice Department Reaches Settlement with George’s Inc.
May 10, 2011
Justice Department Requires Divestiture in Merger of Exelon and Constellation Energy
The Division required Exelon Corporation and Constellation Energy Group Inc. to divest three electricity generating plants in Maryland in order to proceed with their $7.9 billion merger. The Department said the original transaction would substantially lessen competition for wholesale electricity, ultimately increasing electricity prices for millions of consumers in the mid-Atlantic region.
Press Release
December 21, 2011
Nasdaq and Intercontinental Exchange Abandon Their Proposed Acquisition of NYSE After Division Inform Companies of Its Intent to Challenge the Proposed Transaction
Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. and Intercontinental Exchange Inc. abandoned their joint bid to acquire NYSE Euronext after the Division informed the companies of its intent to file an antitrust lawsuit. The Department said that the proposed acquisition would reduce competition for corporate stock listing services, opening and closing stock auction services, off-exchange stock trade reporting services, and real-time propriety equity data products.
Press Release
May 16, 2011
Comment
May 16, 2011
Justice Department Requires Divestitures in Grupo Bimbo and BBU’s Acquisition of Sara Lee’s North American Fresh Bakery
The Division required Grupo Bimbo S.A.B. de C.V., BBU Inc., and Sara Lee Corporation to divest brands of sliced fresh bread to proceed with Grupo Bimbo and BBU’s acquisition of Sara Lee’s North American Fresh Bakery business. The Department said that the original acquisition would reduce competition in the sale of bagged, sliced, fresh bread in eight metropolitan markets, leading to increased bread prices for consumers.
Press Release
October 21, 2011
Justice Department Requires Mill Divestitures in International Paper’s Acquisition of Temple-Inland
The Division required International Paper Company and Temple-Inland Inc. to divest three containerboard mills in order to proceed with their $4.3 billion merger. The Division said that the proposed merger would have produced a single firm in control of approximately 37 percent of North America’s containerboard capacity and would have substantially lessened competition in the production and sale of containerboard.
Press Release
February 10, 2012
Justice Department Requires Mill Divestitures in International Paper’s Acquisition of Temple-Inland
Justice Department Closes Investigation of Google’s Acquisition of Admeld
The Division closed its investigation of Google Inc.’s acquisition of Admeld Inc. after its thorough investigation which concluded that the transaction was not likely to substantially reduce competition in the sale of display advertising.
Press Release
December 2, 2011
Verifone, Hypercom, and Ingenico Abandon Plans to Divest Point of Sale Business to Ingenico Following Justice Department Lawsuit
The Division filed an antitrust lawsuit to prevent VeriFone Systems Inc. from acquiring Hypercom Corp. and entering into an anticompetitive divestiture agreement with Ingenico S.A. The Department said that the original transaction would reduce competition in the sale of point-of-sale (POS) terminals in the United States, leading to high prices and less innovation, quality, product variety, and service. Approximately one week after the Antitrust Division filed its lawsuit, Verifone, Hypercom, and Ingenico abandoned plans to divest POS business to Ignenico, but the Department’s lawsuit to block the overall deal between VeriFone and Hypercom is still pending.
Press Releases
May 20, 2011
May 12, 2011
Justice Department Reaches Settlement for Unilever’s Acquisition of Alberto-Culver
The Division required Unilever and Alberto-Culver Co. to divest two hair care brands in order to proceed with Unilever’s $3.7 billion acquisition of Alberto-Culver. The Department said that the original transaction would reduce competition in the value shampoo, value conditioner, and hairspray markets.
Press Release
May 6, 2011
Justice Department Requires Divestitures in Unilever’s Acquisition of Alberto-Culver Company
Justice Department Requires Divestiture in Stericycle’s Acquisition of Healthcare Waste Solutions
The Division required Stericycle Inc. to divest an asset used in the treatment of infectious waste in order to proceed with its acquisition of Healthcare Waste Solutions Inc. The Department said that the original transaction would substantially lessen competition in the provision of infectious waste treatment services to hospitals and other health care facilities in the New York City metropolitan area, resulting in higher prices and reduced service.
Press Release
April 8, 2011
Civil Nonmerger
Justice Department Requires Morgan Stanley to Disgorge Profits in Settlement
The Division required Morgan Stanley to pay $4.8 million in disgorgement of profits for violation of antitrust laws. Morgan Stanley and KeySpan Corporation entered into an agreement that restrained competition in the New York City electricity capacity market, which led to increased electricity prices for consumers. The Department previously required KeySpan to disgorge $12 million in profits for its role in the agreement, which was approved by the court in February 2011.
Press Release
September 30, 2011
Justice Department Requires Divestiture to Preserve Health Insurance Competition in Montana
The Division required New West Health Services Inc. to sell the majority of its commercial health insurance business to a third party buyer and provide additional relief to preserve health insurance competition in Montana. The divestiture and other relief would allow Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana Inc. to proceed with an agreement with five of New West’s six hospital owners to purchase health insurance from Blue Cross exclusively for six years. The Department said that without the divestiture and additional relief, competition would have been substantially reduced in commercial health insurance markets in Montana, resulting in higher prices and lower-quality services.
Press Release
November 8, 2011
Justice Department Requires Divestiture to Preserve Health Insurance Competition in Montana
Justice Department Issues a Statement on US Airways/Delta Airlines Acquisition of Airport Slots
Following the Department of Transportation’s order involving US Airways’ and Delta Airlines’ acquisition of slots at Washington’s Ronald Reagan National Airport and New York’s LaGuardia Airport, the Division announced that it will continue its investigation of US Airways’ acquisition of Delta Airlines’ slots at Ronald Reagan National Airport while it will not continue to investigate the acquisition of slots at LaGuardia Airport.
Press Release
October 11, 2011
Justice Department Closes Its Investigation of Google’s Acquisition of Motorola Mobility and the Acquisitions of Certain Patents by Apple, Microsoft, and Research in Motion
The Division closed its investigations into Google Inc.’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., the acquisition by Apple Inc. of certain Novell Inc. patents, and the acquisitions by Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., and Research in Motion Ltd. of certain Nortel Networks Corporation patents. After a thorough review of the proposed transactions, the Division determined that each acquisition is unlikely to substantially lessen competition or change existing market dynamics. In all of the transactions, the Division conducted an in-depth analysis into the potential ability and incentives of the acquiring firms to use the patents they proposed acquiring to foreclose competitors.
Press Release
February 13, 2012
Microsoft Antitrust Final Judgment Expires
The Microsoft final judgment, which has been in effect since 2002, was designed to eliminate Microsoft’s illegal practices, to prevent recurrence of the same or similar practices, and to restore the potential for competition from software products known as “middleware.” The Department said that as a result of the Division’s efforts in the Microsoft case and final judgment, the competitive landscape changed allowing the marketplace to operate in a fair and open manner bringing about increased innovation and more choices for consumers.
Press Release
May 11, 2011
