Overview
Bates White professionals and affiliates help clients in communications and media industries with issues related to complex antitrust litigation, including horizontal conspiracies, monopolization, and vertical restraints. We advise clients on issues of market definition, market power, and procompetitive and anticompetitive behavior; and we evaluate competitive effects under antitrust and “public interest” standards. Rapid evolution of these industries, along with more recent phenomena such as cross-platform competition, can make such matters particularly complex; Bates White is equipped with the knowledge and experience to navigate these issues.
Our experts also assist clients with antitrust review of merger matters. Mergers in the communications and media industries often involve multiple jurisdictional reviews that include federal antitrust agencies, the FCC, and state regulatory agencies. We apply our experience with merger analysis to the special issues affecting these industries in order to assist merging parties, interested third parties, and government agencies. Increased globalization of communications firms means that international review is also sometimes required. Our alliance with E.CA Economics enhances our ability to provide antitrust and merger review services on an international scale.
Selected Work
- On behalf of the New York State Attorney General, evaluated the competitive effects of the $26 billion Sprint T-Mobile merger.
- Supported DOJ expert in the agency’s litigation over the proposed merger of AT&T and Time Warner.
- On behalf of Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc., analyzed the likely competitive effects of Sinclair’s acquisition of 21 regional sports networks originally owned by 21st Century Fox.
- Assisted the DOJ in evaluating the potential competitive effects of the proposed merger of Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tribune Media.
- Prepared economic analysis on behalf of the Canadian Competition Bureau in support of its review of the acquisition of Manitoba Telecom Services, Inc. by BCE Inc.
- Provided expert analysis to the FCC on behalf of Cogent Communications regarding the proposed merger of Comcast and Time Warner Cable.
- Assessed the potential competitive effects of AT&T’s proposed $48 billion acquisition of DirecTV during an extended review of the transaction by the DOJ and FCC.
- Appeared before DOJ on behalf of a candidate divestiture buyer in connection with its investigation of AT&T's proposed acquisition of T-Mobile, which raised both horizontal and vertical concerns.
- On behalf of Bloomberg, provided economic analysis of the potential for foreclosure of programmers resulting from the Comcast/NBC Universal merger.
- Provided economic analysis to the Canadian Competition Bureau in its evaluation of the proposed acquisition of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment by Bell Canada and Rogers Communications.