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Representatives for Mars and Kellanova (K) are set to meet with European Commission officials this week for a critical discussion that could help the enforcer decide whether to clear the companies’ $36 billion proposed merger in phase 1 or push it to an in-depth investigation, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Brussels hungry for phase 2 reviews. With just one in-depth merger investigation opened so far this year, the European Commission is signaling a renewed appetite for phase 2 investigations, according to sources familiar with the commission’s thinking. “The bar is very low” to...
New fees on Chinese ships proposed by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) are likely to raise freight prices but are unlikely to generate significant revenue as companies will have multiple strategies available to avoid the fees, according to experts and industry members. ...
Faro Technologies in a securities filing Friday disclosed that it first engaged an investment bank to explore a sale in January—a timeline that could bolster arguments that its pending laser projector market exit isn’t an attempt to avoid U.S. antitrust scrutiny of its proposed $920...
Industrial giant Ametek’s proposed $920 million acquisition of Faro Technologies would unite two companies whose 3D laser projectors have competed closely over the past decade for use in a host of complex industrial applications, industry sources told The Capitol...
The European Commission is taking seriously the concerns of retailers about the bargaining power of Mars following its proposed $36 billion acquisition of Kellanova (K), as the agency kicks off its phase 1 investigation of the transaction, sources close to the matter told The Capitol...
SAMR fines four pharmaceutical suppliers 354 million yuan for price-fixing. The Tianjin branch of China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) announced on May 9 that it had levied a total of 354 million yuan ($49 million) in penalties on four pharmaceutical suppliers for...
Foreign-owned firms that are U.S. government contractors such as Chinese tech multinational Lenovo Group (HKEX: 0992), NTT Data Group (TSE: 9613) and Thales (ENX: HO) are likely to face heightened scrutiny under new Department of Defense (DOD) regulations. This regulatory framework will...
Hundreds of audience “segments” sold on data broker LiveRamp Holdings, Inc.’s (RAMP) Data Marketplace offer advertisers the ability to target households based on the presence of children and teens—in some cases relying on potentially sensitive information like individuals’...
Health care providers can access rivals’ detailed output data and receive customized pricing recommendations through Roper Technologies subsidiary Strata Decision Technology’s software tools, according to company marketing materials reviewed by The Capitol...
Revenue management and pricing optimization platform PROS Holdings (PRO) could face legal scrutiny for its airline pricing solutions that, by replacing carriers’ independent competitive decision-making, opens the door for industry-wide coordination, a Capitol Forum investigation found....
Data broker LiveRamp Holdings, Inc. (RAMP) operates a vast digital marketplace that exchanges the personal information of hundreds of millions of individuals grouped into highly specific audience “segments”—many of which include potentially sensitive information denoting everything...
The Trump administration is unlikely to sign off on any restructured deal between U.S. Steel (NYSE: X) and Japan’s Nippon Steel (Tokyo: 5401) until an activist hedge fund’s high-stakes play to replace the American company’s leadership and board is resolved, a Capitol Forum analysis...
If Herc Holdings (HRI) completes its proposed $5.3 billion acquisition of rival H&E Equipment Services (HEES), construction companies around the country should still have plenty of viable options for renting heavy equipment, according to industry sources and a Capitol Forum...
Some European Union member states are considering whether to urge the European Commission to invoke a powerful new trade tool in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s reinstatement this month of 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, sources familiar with the matter said. The...
The recent summary judgment ruling in the first-ever AI training data copyright lawsuit may give courts some guidance on how to consider generative AI copyright cases. If so, that’s good news for copyright holders. In Thomson Reuters v. Ross Intelligence, Judge Stephanos Bibas, a Third...
RB Global (RBA) subsidiary Rouse Services, which provides benchmarking and appraisals to the construction equipment rental industry, could be at risk of regulatory scrutiny as U.S. antitrust regulators target algorithmic intermediaries across the economy. Rouse’s business model...
Four trucking advocacy organizations sent a letter to the FTC, alleging that the behavior of freight brokers—the middlemen connecting truckers, or carriers, with the shippers who want to hire them to transport a load—is anticompetitive and contributing to unfair labor...
After several recent price hikes on credit scores used in the mortgage lending business, the Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) is rumored to be readying yet another increase at the start of 2025—a move that will again leave customers with no recourse because of the entrenched nature of the...
A federal program that helps school districts swap diesel buses for electric or propane-powered replacements has been a boon to school bus manufacturer Blue Bird Corp. (BLBD), providing generous subsidies to soften the sticker shock that might have otherwise steered districts away from...
The Department of Transportation and some states are seeking remedies from Alaska Airlines (ALK) in its bid for Hawaiian Airlines (HA) as the carriers submit to DOT’s review of their $1.9 billion deal, sources familiar with the matter...
Recent elections in France have weakened Emmanuel Macron in Paris and Brussels. But the push by the French president and other senior European politicians for less aggressive European Union competition enforcement to favor companies in the region over foreign rivals will remain strong,...
In examining Uber Technologies’ (UBER) proposed acquisition of Delivery Hero’s (DHER) Foodpanda business, Taiwan’s competition regulator met this week with industry participants such as restaurant chain operators and drivers, who have complained about the $950 million deal leading...
WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings (WSC) has pursued an aggressive seven-year roll-up strategy in the office trailer and portable storage business, largely avoiding antitrust scrutiny while completing an eye-popping 21 acquisitions in the last two years alone. It’s now trying to buy what...
The Navy is projecting a year-long delay to its No. 1 acquisition program, the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine fleet, unless prime contractor General Dynamics Electric Boat (GD) makes significant performance improvements, two sources told The Capitol...
The European Commission has been examining over 90 passenger routes served by both International Airlines Group (IAG) and Air Europa, a Spanish carrier that IAG is attempting to purchase for the second time in five years, according to sources familiar with the...
Evolv Technology (EVLV), which has sold itself to customers and investors as a “frictionless” artificial intelligence weapons detection system capable of screening people 10 times faster than conventional metal detectors, recently made several changes to its online marketing...
DOJ investigation of Visa has recently taken back seat to Apple, Live Nation probes. DOJ has prioritized its monopolization investigation of Apple (AAPL) and is expected to file suit soon. The department is on track to follow that litigation with a suit against Live Nation Entertainment...
The regulatory path grew riskier for Alaska Airlines’ (ALK) proposed $1.9 billion acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines (HA) after DOJ won the JetBlue/Spirit case last week, antitrust and airline experts told The Capitol Forum. In enjoining JetBlue Airways’ (JBLU) $3.8 billion attempted...
The antitrust trial on DOJ’s suit to block JetBlue Airways (JBLU) $3.8 billion bid for Spirit Airlines (SAVE) entered its third week with Frontier Airlines (ULCC) CEO Barry Biffle asserting today that the “JetBlue Effect” tends not to “drop the fare as much” as ultra-low cost...
France’s rejection of U.S.-based Flowserve’s (FLS) proposed $245 million purchase of Canadian industrial valve manufacturer Velan (TSX: VLN) last month should serve as a warning to dealmakers regarding the limits of trust between even longstanding allies, trade and national security...
Security screening company Evolv Technology (EVLV) may be overstating the capabilities of its walk-through metal detectors, which the company markets as faster and smarter than competitors—claims that have been called into question by customers and an industry research group, raising...
In its acquisition of utility company Dominion (D), Enbridge (ENB), a major pipeline operator, could use Dominion’s control over contracts between buyers and sellers of natural gas in Ohio to favor its own interstate pipelines, according to a Capitol Forum analysis. Enbridge currently...
AAON Inc. (AAON), a large manufacturer of ventilation and air conditioning equipment for both commercial and residential use, discloses in its SEC filings that its customer Texas AirSystems LLC accounted for “more than 10% or more of its sales during 2022, 2021 and 2020” and accounted...
The prospects for Broadcom’s (AVGO) proposed VMware (VMW) buyout, Intercontinental Exchange’s (ICE) attempted Black Knight (BKI) purchase and L3Harris Technologies’ (LHX) bid for Aerojet Rocketdyne have distinctly improved due to a series of recent, unrelated developments, according...
At yesterday’s marathon hearing, U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes grilled DOJ litigator, Matthew Huppert, over the appropriate legal framework to apply to merger challenges involving a divestiture. Judge Reyes also indicated that DOJ’s challenge to Assa Abloy’s (ASSA-B:SS) bid for...
Chinese industry associations and airline operators are urging the country’s antitrust authority to require Korean Air (KRX: 003490) and Asiana Airlines (KRX: 020560) to abide by a remedy offer they made to address concerns with their proposed merger but subsequently rescinded, sources...
Amazon and Apollo are rolling up power in the air cargo market. In recent years, Amazon (AMZN) acquired equity and warrants in Atlas Air (AAWW) and equity and warrants at ATSG (ATSG)— two of the largest U.S. independent air cargo carriers, according to an analysis by The Capitol Forum...
Energy and transportation company FTAI Infrastructure (FIP) will likely see lower revenues this quarter amid a cut to steel and tin production from its largest freight customer, US Steel (X), according to a Capitol Forum investigation. ...
JetBlue’s (JBLU) proposed $3.8 billion acquisition of Spirit Airlines (SAVE), which the companies formally inked on July 28 after a months-long takeover dance, faces an uphill climb to close given the carriers’ overlaps on dozens of highly-concentrated U.S. city-pair routes and a...
The draft regulations of the California Privacy Rights Act contain various provisions that are designed to limit the sharing of consumers’ personal data with third-party companies that do not directly interact with consumers, according to privacy experts interviewed by The Capitol...
JetBlue’s (JBLU) unsolicited $3.6 billion offer earlier this month to buy Spirit Airlines (SAVE) does more than inject uncertainty into the discount carrier’s future plans: It complicates Spirit’s role as a leading opponent of JetBlue and American Airlines’ (AAL) Northeast...
DOJ’s antitrust division is asking whether a Mastercard-backed debit card used by delivery apps like Grubhub, Instacart, Uber Eats (UBER) and DoorDash (DASH) prevent rival debit networks from competing at checkout, according to sources familiar with the probe. At issue is a debit card...
Konecranes, Cargotec await EC merger decision. The European Commission could conclude its in-depth investigation into a merger between Konecranes (HEL: KCR) and Cargotec (HEL: CGCBV) as early as this week. The EU watchdog will decide on the deal by March 3, but Phase II decisions often...
Special Note: Coordination Out Loud is a series of articles that analyze select corporate transcripts through the lens of Joseph Harrington’s landmark paper, “Collusion in Plain Sight: Firms’ Use of Public Announcements to Restrain Competition.” The paper concludes that...
Konecranes (HEL: KCR) and Cargotec (HEL: CGCBV) this week lambasted the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) provisional findings that their proposed merger is anticompetitive, calling the UK antitrust watchdog’s view of the $5.3 billion deal “wrong as a matter of fact and...
Bedoya hearing pushed to January 24. Originally, the Senate Commerce Committee’s re-vote on the nomination of Alvaro Bedoya, President Joe Biden’s choice to fill the FTC’s third Democratic seat, was tentatively set for January 12. But, according to a source, the vote has now been...
Germany targets Google’s market power. Google faces deeper antitrust scrutiny in Germany following a Bundeskartellamt decision last week that the search engine and its parent, Alphabet (GOOG), meet a threshold for new abuse controls meant to speed up investigations. Remedies imposed on...
Uber (UBER) and Lyft (LYFT) deploy a number of incentive programs to attract drivers. The companies call them bonuses, but some legal experts see the programs as a potential violation of antitrust law. The programs are designed to incentivize drivers to work exclusively for one app during...
Cartel fines. Companies in breach of EU cartel rules have racked up fines totalling almost 1.4 billion euros ($1.58 billion) so far in 2021, according to updated statistics released last week by the European Commission. That compares to fines amounting to less than 300 million euros ($338...
On Friday, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) preliminarily denied a Bloom Energy (BE) proposal to create a microgrid capacity services tariff to provide electricity to the grid during outages. Under its proposal previously reported on by The Capitol Forum, Bloom requested...
