Author: 21st Century Competition

US: Unlike Senate, House declines AT&T, Comcast merger hearings (Competition Policy International)

The US Senate announced last Friday that it has set June 24 to hold a hearing on the proposed merger between AT&T and DirecTV.

The Senate’s judiciary antitrust subcommittee has scheduled a hearing to examine the deal. According to reports, the House will no do the same.

The House Commerce Communications subcommittee …read more

Germany: State watchdog not too happy over Telefonica, E-Plus review (Competition Policy International)

Germany’s competition regulator is speaking out against the merger of wireless giants Telefonica and E-Plus, under review by the European Commission, warning that the deal could harm competition and consumers, reports say.

Germany’s Federal Cartel Office reportedly sent a letter to the European Commission last month, according to one source, in …read more

US: Sprint to lose either its name or $2B in T-Mobile deal (Competition Policy International)

Wireless operators Sprint and T-Mobile have reportedly reached crucial agreements regarding what to do should their proposed merger fail, and should it succeed.

Reports say the companies agreed on a $2 billion breakup fee if the transaction implodes, a value twice as large as previously reported.

But should the merger be successful, …read more

China: Agencies to push infant formula consolidation after scandal (Competition Policy International)

Chinese regulators announced Friday they plan to invest in the consolidation of the domestic infant milk formula industry in efforts to strengthen local competition after various foreign companies were fined for price-fixing.

According to reports, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of …read more