The Antitrust Week In Review

Amazon Japan raided on suspicion of antitrust practices: Nikkei. Japan’s Fair Trade Commission has raided the office of Amazon Japan on suspicion of pressuring retailers to offer products on more favorable conditions than on rival sites, the Nikkei business daily reported on Monday. The paper did not say when the raid took place. Amazon Japan is suspected of imposing conditions on retailers such as forcing them to sell products at a lower price if they were also advertising on other online shopping sites, the Nikkei said, citing sources with knowledge of the case.

U.S. Challenge to Anthem-Cigna Deal Gets New Judge. The judge overseeing the U.S. government’s bid to stop health insurer Anthem Inc from buying Cigna Corp, who had been seen as favorable for the deal, has relinquished the case. Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia was named to hear the case after Judge John Bates asked that it be reassigned. Judge Jackson was nominated to the bench in 2011 by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. Judge Bates will hear the U.S. Justice Department’s challenge to Aetna Inc’s purchase of Humana Inc. He was originally assigned to both cases The judge had ruled against antitrust enforcers in 2004 when he allowed Arch Coal Inc to buy Triton Coal.

Sony Wins Unconditional EU Approval for Michael Jackson Deal. EU antitrust regulators have cleared Sony Corp’s bid to buy out Michael Jackson’s stake in its music publishing joint venture, the world’s largest with copyrights to the Beatles’ songs and songs by Taylor Swift. The European Commission said deal would not hurt competition in the recorded music and music publishing industries. “The transaction will not materially increase Sony’s market power vis-a-vis digital music providers compared to the situation prior to the merger,” the EU competition enforcer said in a statement.

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