Nexstar Media Group announces $6.2 billion acquisition of Tegna, creating broadcasting giant reaching 80% of US TV households. Deal represents mass…
Former DOJ antitrust official Roger Alford publicly accused Attorney General Pam Bondi’s chief of staff Chad Mizelle of ‘perverting justice’ by overruling career officials to approve the Hewlett Packard Enterprise-Juniper Networks $14 billion merger. Alford and another senior …
President Trump signs executive order revoking previous competition and antitrust enforcement policies, clearing path for increased corporate consolidation and monopolistic practices without federal oversight.
A draft bill from the House Judiciary Committee would expand Trump’s executive power by curtailing the FTC’s antitrust enforcement capabilities, aligning with broader efforts to consolidate presidential control over independent agencies
Pilgrim’s Pride, a meat processor that paid over $100 million in antitrust fines, made the largest single $5 million donation to the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee. Senator Elizabeth Warren launched an investigation into potential quid pro quo, highlighting the company’s simultaneous …
Mark Zuckerberg lobbied President Trump to settle a 2020 FTC antitrust case that seeks to unwind Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp for allegedly maintaining an illegal monopoly. The case was set for trial on April 14, 2025. According to WSJ, negotiations failed and the trial …
Paul Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, sold 2,000 shares of Visa worth between $500,000 and $1 million on July 1, 2024. This transaction became controversial when the Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Visa on September 24, alleging monopolization of …
On January 24, 2023, the United States Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Google seeking to break up the company’s advertising technology business—marking the first government attempt to structurally dismantle a major corporation since AT&T in 1982. The case …
On December 16, 2020, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google joined by nine other states, exposing secret agreements between Google and Facebook—including the “Jedi Blue” deal—to eliminate competition in digital advertising and maintain Google’s …
The Federal Trade Commission, joined by 46 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam, files major antitrust lawsuit against Facebook alleging illegal monopolization through systematic acquisition of competitors Instagram and WhatsApp. The FTC seeks structural breakup of Facebook through forced …
On October 20, 2020, the United States Department of Justice, joined by eleven state Attorneys General, filed a landmark antitrust lawsuit against Google LLC for illegally monopolizing search and search advertising markets. The case represented the federal government’s most significant …
On April 3, 2020, Raytheon Company and United Technologies Corporation (UTC) completed a $135 billion merger creating Raytheon Technologies, the world’s second-largest aerospace and defense company behind only Boeing. The merger combined Raytheon’s weapons systems—including the Patriot …
On July 18, 2018, the European Commission imposed a record €4.34 billion ($5 billion) fine on Google for breaching EU antitrust rules through three separate illegal practices involving its Android mobile operating system. The penalty was the largest antitrust fine ever imposed globally, exceeding …
Northrop Grumman completed its $9.2 billion acquisition of Orbital ATK on June 6, 2018, gaining control of the premier supplier of solid rocket motors essential for missile systems and creating anticompetitive market dominance that the Federal Trade Commission warned would “reduce competition …
On May 4, 2018, Axon Enterprise acquired VieVu LLC, its primary competitor in the police body camera industry, for $7.1 million ($4.6 million cash and $2.5 million in stock) plus performance-based milestone payments of 141,000 additional shares. The acquisition eliminated meaningful competition in …
The Federal Trade Commission approved Amazon’s $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods Market on August 23, 2017, without an in-depth investigation. This decision demonstrated regulatory challenges in addressing 21st-century tech monopolies, as the FTC did not find substantial anticompetitive …
On June 27, 2017, the European Commission imposed a record-breaking €2.42 billion ($2.7 billion) fine on Google for abusing its dominance in general internet search by systematically favoring its own comparison shopping service over those of competitors. The decision concluded a 7-year investigation …
Facebook acquires WhatsApp for $19 billion, the largest tech acquisition to date, eliminating its primary competitor in mobile messaging and consolidating monopoly control over personal communications platforms. The FTC approves the acquisition without structural separation requirements despite …
The Federal Trade Commission closed its 19-month antitrust investigation of Google without bringing charges, despite internal staff recommendations for legal action. With 230 White House meetings in 2012-2013, Google demonstrated unprecedented political access, ultimately avoiding significant …
Facebook acquired Instagram for $1 billion in a strategic move explicitly designed to neutralize a potential competitive threat. The acquisition was part of a systematic strategy to prevent emerging social media platforms from challenging Facebook’s market dominance. With Instagram having 27 …
Facebook acquired photo-sharing app Instagram for billion, implementing what the FTC would later characterize as a ‘buy or bury’ strategy to eliminate competitive threats. Internal emails revealed CEO Mark Zuckerberg explicitly stated the acquisition was motivated by a desire to …
Facebook acquired photo-sharing app Instagram for billion, implementing what the FTC would later characterize as a “buy or bury” strategy to eliminate competitive threats. Internal emails revealed CEO Mark Zuckerberg explicitly stated the acquisition was motivated by a desire to …
On April 13, 2008, Google completed its $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick, the dominant online advertising server and ad exchange operator. The merger, approved by the Federal Trade Commission in December 2007, combined Google’s search advertising dominance with DoubleClick’s …
Oracle Corporation completed its acquisition of PeopleSoft on December 13, 2004, for approximately $10.3 billion ($26.50 per share), concluding an 18-month hostile takeover battle after defeating the Department of Justice’s antitrust challenge. The final purchase price represented more than …
The U.S. Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit on February 26, 2004, seeking to block Oracle Corporation’s proposed hostile acquisition of PeopleSoft, alleging that the merger would substantially reduce competition in the enterprise software market and result in higher prices, less …
The Department of Justice reached a settlement with Microsoft that effectively abandoned meaningful antitrust enforcement, despite a federal judge finding Microsoft guilty of monopolistic practices. The Bush administration’s DOJ retreated from the Clinton administration’s plan to break …
Clear Channel Communications completes its acquisition of AMFM Inc. for 3.5 billion, creating the largest radio broadcasting company in American history with over 1,200 radio stations nationwide - representing 30 times more stations than congressional regulation previously allowed. This mega-merger …