Antitrust

NFL can turn a $5 bln court loss into a touchdown

1 Jul 2024

The American football franchise may have to pay billions after a jury deemed bundling teams’ Sunday games to be anticompetitive. The NFL is TV’s biggest prize, so a single package commands top dollar. But other leagues prove dicing up rights can spark a wider feeding frenzy.

Trustbusters loom larger for Microsoft than Nvidia

6 Jun 2024

Tech is full of natural monopolies, and artificial intelligence may be no different. Regulators prefer to act quickly to stop abusive actions snuffing out competition. The $3 trln chipmaker’s dominance will be hard to dislodge. The software giant’s AI deals appear more fragile.

Capital One scales banking’s Mount Improbable

30 May 2024

The US lender’s $35 bln bid for Discover will make it king of the hill in credit-card debt, but to realise his ambitions, boss Richard Fairbank has a lot of people to win over. That includes not just regulators and merchants but his own investors – and maybe then the world.

Live Nation breakup will leave Swifties unsated

24 May 2024

The $22 bln venue owner and ticketer is being sued by US watchdogs who link Live Nation’s grip on music concerts with sky-high ticket prices. Busting the company in two doesn’t guarantee lower fees. A separate Ticketmaster will probably do fine on its own.

Trustbusters target poor man’s John D. Rockefeller

2 May 2024

Today’s energy producers wield far less clout than the industrialist’s Standard Oil, whose breakup shaped US competition law. By comparison, the FTC’s collusion case against Pioneer’s ex-CEO linked to the $65 bln Exxon deal is mostly symbolic. Robber barons lurk elsewhere now.

Silicon Valley models value of noncompete ban

24 Apr 2024

A new FTC rule forbids US companies from stopping employees joining a rival, or starting one. Freeing up opportunities for a fifth of the workforce should boost pay. California’s tech hub also showcases other benefits of labor mobility. Intel, for example, exists because of it.

Kate Spade deal veto is lucky dip for trustbusters

23 Apr 2024

US competition cops want to stop Tapestry, owner of the handbag brand, from buying rival Capri. The $8.5 bln merger is a tempting target: well-known products, few political issues, and none of Big Tech’s mighty resources. That offers a chance to road-test novel legal theories.

UnitedHealth shows market power is double-edged

16 Apr 2024

The insurer’s reach in the US healthcare system drew an antitrust probe – and a ransomware attack that could cost $1.6 bln. It’s grist for trustbusters: dominance may let firms take their eye off the ball on cybersecurity, and make the systems that depend on them more fragile.

Market forces knock ominously on US realtors’ door

12 Apr 2024

Home buyers will soon find it easier to negotiate fees they pay to 1.5 mln agents – a move that might have happened earlier in a less distorted market. Some brokers will earn more. But the reforms are likely to shrink the fee pool, which is tricky for ancillary firms like Zillow.

Motor-racing deal faces quick antitrust pitstop

11 Apr 2024

F1 owner Liberty Media is doubling down on sports broadcasting rights with its $4.5 bln buy of MotoGP’s parent. CVC’s 2006 attempt to own both racing series got an EU antitrust black flag. The rise of streaming channels means mogul John Malone will have an easier ride this time.

US antitrust push invites creative dealmaking

4 Apr 2024

Policymakers and trustbusters are eyeing new restrictions on mergers and acquisitions. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists unpack some imaginative workarounds being used by companies ranging from Big Tech to fast food.

Hermès lawsuit attacks luxury’s FOMO premium

26 Mar 2024

A suit against the $274 bln fashion house claims it’s so hard to buy a Birkin, it’s illegal, alleging the handbag’s must-have aura lets the company force purchases of unwanted extras. If successful, it could crimp both Hermès’ top growth areas and ultra-luxe goods’ mystique.

Apple antitrust case is surprisingly simple

21 Mar 2024

The US legal swipe at the $2.7 trln iPhone maker is all about choice. Users choose its devices, but not always the services on them. That shows up in small ways, like payments or how to install apps. In a new cloud-dominated world, returning choice to users will matter much more.

US Steel tug-of-war threatens to pull it apart

19 Mar 2024

Cleveland-Cliffs has put its rival in a bind, rallying political and labor opposition to a $14 bln agreed sale to Japan’s Nippon while pushing its own questionable takeover bid. No deal at all would be bad news for the target’s union workers. A carve-up might be inevitable.

Apple’s Epic fail powers up EU tech oversight cred

11 Mar 2024

The $2.6 trln firm quickly reversed its decision to close ‘Fortnite’ maker Epic Games’ developer account. Frowns from the EU, which is going after Big Tech via fresh laws, look to have played a role. The episode is as much a victory for the bloc’s credibility as it is for Epic.

EU’s $2 bln Apple bite is still more of a bark

4 Mar 2024

Brussels is fining the US giant more than expected for hurting streaming competition. That leaves $2.7 trln Apple open to similar cases. But as with other EU bids to rein in Big Tech, it hikes the cost of doing business more than it shakes up the sector.

Stephen King ghost-writes trustbusting bestseller

27 Feb 2024

The US FTC is suing to block the $25 bln merger of grocers Kroger and Albertsons partly because of perceived harm to union labor. It resembles, oddly enough, a winning DOJ lawsuit over Penguin’s deal to buy Simon & Schuster. The case has a good shot at becoming a horror classic.

Big Tech and AI get too close for comfort

29 Jan 2024

Microsoft, Amazon, Nvidia and Alphabet alone contributed about a third of the $70 bln raised by data and artificial intelligence startups last year. Some of the investments could turn into revenue generators. Mounting regulatory and financial risks also might offset the benefits.

Spirit deal loss eases anxiety for everyone else

16 Jan 2024

A judge grounded JetBlue’s $4 bln purchase of the ultra-cheap carrier. The defeat avoided a potentially unprecedented intervention by regulators that would have clouded the industry, while affirming antitrust blowback. But Spirit’s shares halved, for good reason.

T-Mobile’s climb to top dog risks winner’s curse

8 Jan 2024

The US telecom’s decade-long rise, sealed by 2020’s Sprint merger, has lapped rivals AT&T and Verizon and triggered an $8 bln payout for backer SoftBank. The tie-up threatened unshakable dominance. But now, newer cable entrants may wrench open the market much as T-Mobile did.