Antitrust Division

Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission to Host First Public Strike Force on Unfair and Illegal Pricing Meeting The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will virtually cohost the first public meeting of the Strike Force on Unfair and Illegal Pricing (Strike Force) on Thursday, Aug. 1, to discuss Strike Force enforcement actions taken to lower prices for Americans. The meeting will convene with an open-press session with remarks by Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Antitrust Division, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Civil Division and FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. Senior officials from other agencies will then offer remarks as well. The remainder of the meeting will move to a closed-door, private discussion of enforcement-related matters. The Strike Force meeting’s open session will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET. The agenda for the public portion of the event will be posted on the FTC’s website prior to the event. A link to view the open virtual meeting will be posted on the FTC’s website the day of the event. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gb3fu5zP

UnitedHealth Group Abandons Two Acquisitions Following Antitrust Division Scrutiny Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division released the following statement after UnitedHealth Group abandoned its proposed acquisitions of Stewardship Health Inc. and a related company following scrutiny from the Antitrust Division. “When you ask Americans what keeps them up at night, affording and accessing quality health care is too often at the top of their list. These transactions are among UnitedHealth Group’s latest proposed provider-related acquisitions, and they raised questions about quality of care, cost of care and working conditions for doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers. I am grateful for the Antitrust Division’s lawyers, economists, paralegals and professional staff who are tireless in their commitment to identify and address pressing antitrust problems in healthcare markets.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/gCj7UfAX

Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission Extend Public Comment on Request for Information Targeting Serial Acquisitions, Roll-Up Strategies Across U.S. Economy The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are extending the deadline for the public to comment on serial acquisitions and roll-up strategies that harm competition by 60 days. The joint request for information (RFI) seeks to learn more about how corporate actors, including private equity owned businesses, become larger — and potentially dominant — through acquisitions of several smaller firms in the same or related business sectors or industries. The new deadline to submit comments is Sept. 20. Businesses do not have to report every deal to the federal antitrust agencies, but some non-reportable deals still allow firms to amass significant control over key products, services or labor markets without government scrutiny. These types of transactions can harm competition to the detriment of consumers, workers and innovation across an entire industry or business sector. Read more: https://lnkd.in/ggZvyfpm

Jury Convicts Two Executives in Longstanding Antitrust Conspiracy to Fix Prices, Rig Bids and Allocate Markets for Concrete A jury convicted Gregory and David Melton yesterday in the U.S. District Court in Savannah, Georgia, for their role in a conspiracy to fix prices, rig bids and allocate markets for sales of ready-mix concrete in Georgia and South Carolina. The conspiracy, which began as early as 2010 and continued until about July 2016, involved coordinating price-increase letters to customers, allocating specific jobs in the coastal Georgia area and submitting bids to customers at collusive and noncompetitive prices. Including yesterday’s verdicts, this investigation resulted in five criminal convictions and one deferred prosecution agreement. Defendants James Pedrick, Timothy Strickland and Strickland’s company, Evans LLC, previously pleaded guilty as a part of the same conspiracy. Pedrick’s former employer, Argos USA LLC, previously entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Antitrust Division, admitted to its participation in the conspiracy and agreed to pay a $20 million criminal penalty. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eiTh45FT

It's your game. Keep it fair. 🏆 We’re teaming up with Competition Bureau Canada and Mexico's Cofece to stop #collusion. Report any suspected violations of federal antitrust law to the Justice Department: https://lnkd.in/ghJeiU4c

Fair play — on and off the field! ⚽ Take a stand against bid rigging, price fixing, and monopolization by learning how DOJ is partnering with Competition Bureau Canada and Mexico's Cofece to keep the game fair and competitive: https://lnkd.in/ghJeiU4c

Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter Delivers Keynote at Open Markets Institute's “Fixing the Information Crisis Before It's Too Late (for Democracy)” Read more: https://lnkd.in/gQuWxz52

Show collusion the red card! 🚩 We’re working with Competition Bureau Canada and Mexico's Cofece to combat suspected federal antitrust crimes. DOJ needs your help to report #anticompetitive conduct: https://lnkd.in/ghJeiU4c

Three Nations, One Goal | We’re joining Mexico’s Federal Economic Competition Commission and Canada’s Competition Bureau to help blow the whistle on #Anticompetitive practices ⚽ Learn more about our joint effort to deter, detect, and prosecute collusion in connection with the FIFA World Cup 26: https://lnkd.in/ghJeiU4c

Four Additional States Join Justice Department’s Suit Against Apple for Monopolizing Smartphone Markets The Attorneys General of Indiana, Massachusetts, Nevada and Washington today joined the civil antitrust lawsuit brought by the Justice Department, 15 states and the District of Columbia against Apple in March for monopolizing multiple smartphone markets in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act. The department and its now expanded group of 20 co-plaintiffs filed an amended complaint in the District of New Jersey. “We welcome the States of Indiana, Massachusetts, Nevada and Washington, who join our existing coalition to restore competition in the smartphone markets that Apple has monopolized,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “We look forward to litigating this important case alongside our state partners to deliver the benefits of competition to consumers, app developers, accessory makers and the American public.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/gv2YDfv3