Recently on Global Competition Policy(GCP) – Google/DoubleClick, Critical Loss Analysis, etc.

Recently published on Global Competition Policy.

Commentary on the Google/DoubleClick Clearance

Competitor Complaints About Google/DoubleClick Rejected Leah Brannon (Cleary Gottlieb) Both the Commission and the FTC conducted extraordinarily thorough reviews, investigating various complaints ranging from the economically unsound to the truly bizarre. Market Definition, Competition, and Privacy in the Google/DoubleClick Transaction Mark Seidman & Christine Naglieri (Federal Trade Commission) The authors discuss two of the key issues: market definition in the online advertising industry; and the interplay of competition and privacy concerns. Lifting the Fog: Google/DoubleClick Demystified Peter Thomas (Simpson Thacher & Bartlett) Google and DoubleClick are at best potential competitors in each other’s markets, and these markets are already robustly competitive and becoming more so each day. Google/DoubleClick and the Power of Information to Raise Antitrust Concerns in Vertical Mergers David Went & Stephen Kinsella (Sidley Austin) The Google/DoubleClick transaction highlights how antitrust concerns in vertical mergers can arise from access to information and the market power that information can confer.

 

Critical Loss Analysis in Merger Review

Critical Loss Analysis in the Whole Foods Case Kevin Murphy & Robert Topel (University of Chicago Graduate School of Business) The critical loss analysis used by Whole Foods’ economist is not useful as a general matter and cannot be used as a tool of market definition. Beyond Critical Loss: Properly Applying the Hypothetical Monopolist Test Gregory Werden (U.S. Department of Justice) While there has rarely been dispute regarding whether to apply the HMT, what is disputed–both in the courtroom and in the commentary–is the utility of a particular way of applying the HMT.

 

Reaction to the Intel Antitrust Allegations

AMD v. Intel: An Assault on Price Competition Robert Cooper (Gibson Dunn) Accepting the notion that aggressively discounting prices might expose a company to a possible violation of the antitrust laws would chill the very price competition antitrust laws are meant to promote. State of New York Launches Investigation of Intel: The Global Drumbeat Continues Thomas McCoy (Advanced Micro Devices) The Attorney General’s move comes as no surprise to close observers of the worldwide scrutiny of Intel’s anticompetitive actions.

 

The Federal Court of Appeal’s Decision in Labatt

 

The Canadian Competition Bureau’s Attempt to Halt Beer Merger Goes Flat Mark Katz (Davies Ward) The FCA’s decision confirms that the threshold for relief under section 100 is more onerous than many in the Canadian competition bar had thought.