The Justice Department’s antitrust division has prevailed in its first trial opposing a merger since its defeat by Bay Area giant Oracle in 2004. In an order issued on October 31, D.C. District Court Judge Beryl Howell granted the government’s motion to enjoin H&R Block’s $287.5 million acquisition of 2SS Holdings Inc., the maker of TaxAct, a popular do-it-yourself (“DIY”) software program.
Three Is The Magic Number: District Court Preserves Tax-Prep Triumvirate, Permanently Enjoins H&R Block Merger
Is Google “Cooking” It?
It was not long ago when Google was under the spotlight for Google Books Settlement. Now it looks like the lawsuits are piling up on Google. There are about 9 antitrust cases filed against the mega-search engine in the EU, one of which was filed by Microsoft against Google for dominating the search market as well as other areas such as the mobile-related realm. A number of small companies have also filed complaints against Google here in the US. The Department of Justice (DOJ) will review Google’s $400 million purchase of Admeld Inc., an Internet advertising company, to investigate whether the deal had an adverse effect on competition. Furthermore, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is conducting an antitrust investigation of Google’s dominance in the search-engine industry.
DOJ Puts the Brakes on Proposed AT&T T-mobile Merger
On August 31, the Department of Justice (DOJ) brought suit to block the proposed merger of AT&T and T-mobile, the second and fourth largest mobile phone service providers in the nation. The DOJ asserts that the combination would result in “higher prices, fewer choices, and lower quality products.”
The DOJ’s argument is bolstered by the observation that T-mobile has been an engine for innovation and competition in the market in the past, as it was the first carrier to bring Android-powered handsets to market and to introduce various unlimited service plans. However Deutsche Telekom, the company that owns T-mobile, has stated that that it no longer plans on investing capital in the U.S. mobile phone service market. This statement, if credible, would make it more difficult for a court to conclude that T-mobile would be able to continue to serve as a source of competition and innovation in the future.