Global Competition Review

DOJ challenges Aon/Willis Towers Watson deal

The Department of Justice has sued to block Aon’s purchase of Willis Towers Watson, alleging that the formation of the world’s largest insurance brokerage would harm US employers and unions.

House Judiciary Committee to mark up antitrust bills next week

The House Judiciary Committee will discuss recently introduced antitrust bills next week, committee chair Jerrold Nadler has said as practitioners and antitrust experts voice concerns about the proposed legislation.

Tipline

Happy birthday, Philadelphia National Bank: The Tipline for 17 June 2021
On this day in 1963, the Supreme Court held in US v Philadelphia National Bank that a merger leading to market shares of at least 30% should be presumed anticompetitive. Fifty-eight years later, the Department of Justice has challenged a transaction – Aon’s $30 billion purchase of Willis Towers Watson – alleging that the combined market share of the two companies exceeds 40% in each of the five relevant markets described in its complaint.
Khan you keep up?: The Tipline for 16 June 2021
Show your hand: The Tipline for 15 June 2021

Khan takes the lead at FTC

President Joe Biden has designated Lina Khan as chair of the Federal Trade Commission hours after the Senate confirmed her nomination to be a commissioner in a 69-to-28 vote.

Altria e-vapour product would have been unsuccessful, executive says

An Altria executive has said the company was still “five to six years away” during the summer of 2018 – just months before it reached a deal agreement with rival Juul – …

Baker Botts snags former DOJ chief of staff

Taylor Owings, the former chief of staff at the Department of Justice’s antitrust division, has joined Baker Botts’ antitrust team in Washington, DC, as a partner.

USA Analysis

Gail Levine: the GCR exit interview

Gail Levine – the last of the antitrust holdovers from the Joseph Simons-era at the Federal Trade Commission – departed earlier this month after helping the next administration get situated. The former deputy director of the FTC’s bureau of competition spoke with GCR USA about the need for additional funding and her experience overseeing the agency’s technology and pharmaceutical shops during a pandemic.

The Jeld-Wen legacy

The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently issued a ground-breaking decision in the litigation between doormakers Jeld-Wen and Steves and Son, confirming a divestiture order in a private merger dispute for the first time. Winston & Strawn partners Susannah Torpey and Neely Agin explore how the ruling might be used by private plaintiffs to challenge allegedly anticompetitive deals in technology markets, while also highlighting some of the …

Alden Abbott: the GCR exit interview

As the Federal Trade Commission’s general counsel, Alden Abbott sought to protect the agency’s ability to claw-back defendants’ ill-gotten gains, helped author its novel 1-800 Contacts decision and consulted regularly with individual commissioners. Now a senior research fellow with George Mason University’s Mercatus Center, Abbott spoke with GCR USA about his three-year stint as the FTC's chief legal officer, the agency's Qualcomm case and proposed antitrust policy reforms.

Daniel Francis: the GCR exit interview

Daniel Francis spent much of his more than three-year tenure at the Federal Trade Commission focused on digital market issues, most recently as deputy director of the Bureau of Competition. In a conversation with GCR USA, he spoke about his agency’s track record tackling nascent competition concerns, the need for more resources and how the high-profile Facebook litigation will help write a new chapter for digital antitrust enforcement.

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