Mergers

March 11, 2010 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) today pressed Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski on the implications for consumers on the proposed merger between Comcast and NBC.

Kerry is the Chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet.

The full text of Senator Kerry’s statement as prepared is below:

Thank you Mr. Chairman. The proposed merger we are discussing today would create a unique and powerful company. And I have faith that the Chairman of the FCC, Julius Genachowski, and the Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust, Christine Varney, will conduct a fair review and impose sensible conditions on it.    » read more »

Rep. Pascrell Led Efforts in House of Reps, Including Letter to DOJ Signed by 50 Members, Opposing the Merger

January 25, 2010 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-8) released the following statement in response to the U.S. Department of Justice’s approval of the Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger.

“I am currently reviewing the Justice Department’s decision, but clearly I am disappointed. One has to wonder what it was that U.S. antitrust authorities saw as a greater priority than American consumers and the free market,” said Pascrell, who testified against the merger before the House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee last year.    » read more »

Justice Department Requires Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. to Make Significant Changes to Its Merger with Live Nation Inc.; Software Licensing Agreement, Divestiture and Anti-Retaliation Provisions Will Preserve Competition in Ticketing in the United States

January 25, 2010 -- WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice announced today that it will require Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. to license its ticketing software, divest ticketing assets and subject itself to anti-retaliation provisions in order to proceed with its proposed merger with Live Nation Inc.    » read more »

Lawsuit Seeks to Restore Lost Competition in Sale of Milk to School Districts and Retailers in Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin

January 22, 2010 -- WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today against Dean Foods Company challenging its April 2009 acquisition of Foremost Farms USA’s Consumer Products Division. The department said that the merger eliminates substantial competition between the two companies in the sale of milk to schools, grocery stores, convenience stores and other retailers in Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin.    » read more »

January 22, 2010 -- “I am pleased that the Department of Justice has moved forward to block a portion of Dean Foods’ acquisition of Foremost Farms. I have had concerns about the impact of this and similar acquisitions on the already hurting dairy industry.

"The Department is following through with its pledge to examine market consolidation in the dairy industry, where farmers have been hit by sinking prices while milk processors and distributors are posting increased profits.

"It is appropriate for the Department to examine this acquisition closely, particularly at a time when dairy farmers are hurting, and dairy companies are not passing on savings to consumers.”    » read more »

Feingold Praises Justice Department Blocking Of Anti-Competitive Dean Foods Merger

January 22, 2010 -- Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Russ Feingold stated his support today for the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) move to block the acquisition of Foremost Farms by Dean Foods, which would have led to a single company dominating the market for fluid milk in parts of Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan.

In May 2009, Feingold, a long-time advocate for more competition in the dairy industry, flagged the possible acquisition for the Justice Department’s Antitrust division including concerns about how the acquisition could affect school lunch programs in Wisconsin. Following the Justice Department’s announced intervention, Feingold released the following statement:    » read more »

Will create networking industry powerhouse with a proven, edge-to-data center set of solutions and global reach

PALO ALTO, Calif., and MARLBOROUGH, Mass., Nov. 11, 2009 -- HP and 3Com Corporation (NASDAQ: COMS) (“3Com”) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which HP will purchase 3Com, a leading provider of networking switching, routing and security solutions, at a price of $7.90 per share in cash or an enterprise value of approximately $2.7 billion. The terms of the transaction have been approved by the HP and 3Com boards of directors.    » read more »

Says FTC Investigation Of CVS/Caremark Merger Is Necessary To Ensure Fair Competition

November 6, 2009 -- (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) today welcomed the news that the Federal Trade Commission is investigating the 2007 merger of CVS and Caremark, saying it is necessary to ensure fair competition in the prescription drug market.

In July, Senator Dorgan, along with Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), sent a letter to the FTC stating that the combination of Caremark and CVS “created a heightened opportunity for anticompetitive conduct in the prescription drug market.” They requested that the FTC investigate the merger because it was hurting Main Street pharmacies.    » read more »

November 2, 2009 -- Abbott Park, Illinois (NYSE: ABT) — Abbott announced today that it has completed its acquisition of Evalve, Inc., the global leader in the development of devices for minimally invasive repair of mitral valves.

The acquisition provides Abbott with a leading presence in the growing area of non-surgical treatment for structural heart disease.Evalve's minimally invasive catheter-based MitraClip® system is the first commercially available treatment option approved in Europe for non-surgical mitral valve repair for patients suffering from the effects of mitral regurgitation – a condition that prevents the heart's mitral valve from closing completely The MitraClip system is an investigational device in the United States and is currently in clinical trials.    » read more »

Addition of Fort Dodge Animal Health Products Diversifies and Enhances Pfizer’s Already Robust U.S. Portfolio

October 19, 2009 -- NEW YORK -- A new Pfizer Animal Health was unveiled last week as Pfizer's acquisition of Wyeth, including its subsidiary Fort Dodge Animal Health, was completed. Pfizer Animal Health is now the world’s leader in the discovery, development, manufacture and sales of veterinary vaccines and medicines for livestock and companion animals.    » read more »

October 15, 2009 -- NEW YORK -- Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and Wyeth (NYSE: WYE) announced today that Pfizer has completed its acquisition of Wyeth following the receipt of regulatory approval from all government authorities required by the merger agreement and approval by Wyeth shareholders. Under the terms of the transaction, each outstanding share of Wyeth common stock has been converted into the right to receive $33 in cash (without interest) and 0.985 of a share of Pfizer common stock.

Effective as of the close of trading today, October 15, 2009, Wyeth common stock (NYSE: WYE) will cease trading.    » read more »

Says Deal Needs 'Additional Scrutiny' From Consumers And Congress

October 9, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), the Chairman of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee and a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, raised new concerns Friday over Diebold’s proposed sale of its voting machine business to its biggest competitor, and announced that his Rules Committee staff would begin a formal review of potential problems posed by the merger.

Schumer announced he would be seeking input from state and local election officials to investigate the deal’s impacts on the administration of elections across the United States. The findings will be compiled into a public report that could be shared with the Department of Justice.    » read more »

October 1, 2009 -- BISMARCK, N.D. - North Dakota Governor John Hoeven today extended a welcome and congratulations to the management and employees of Murphy Oil Corp., which earlier today acquired the former VeraSun Ethanol facility in Hankinson, North Dakota. It is the company's first renewable fuels venture.

Gov. Hoeven was informed of the acquisition by Plant Manager Wes Plummer, who said the company had searched extensively for an ethanol plant to acquire and was sold on the Hankinson site because of its outstanding workforce and well-maintained, modern facility. The purchase price was $92 million, and the company plans to invest an additional $15 million in working capital into the facility.    » read more »

Dallas, Texas, September 30, 2009 -- AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) today announced the acquisition of privately-held Plusmo, Inc., a leading provider of cross-platform mobile application solutions, bringing to AT&T an open standards technology that will simplify mobile application development, accelerate innovation and deliver a better application experience for consumers. Plusmo will become a part of AT&T Interactive, and the Plusmo mobile application development platform is expected to be used by multiple AT&T subsidiaries, including AT&T Mobility. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.    » read more »

Dallas, Texas, Wall, New Jersey, September 14, 2009 -- AT&T* and Centennial Communications Corp. (NASDAQ: CYCL) announced today that, assuming timely satisfaction or waiver of all remaining closing conditions including receipt of the required regulatory approvals, they now anticipate the pending acquisition of Centennial by AT&T to be completed early in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2009. On November 7, 2008, the two companies entered into an agreement under which AT&T would acquire Centennial. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Centennial stockholders would receive $8.50 per share in cash.    » read more »