The Antitrust Week In Review
Here are some of the developments in antitrust news this past week that we found interesting and are following.
U.S. Justice Department in early stages of drafting possible antitrust suit against Apple -Politico. The U.S. Justice Department is in the early stages of drafting a potential antitrust complaint against Apple Inc, Politico reported on Friday, citing a person with direct knowledge of the matter. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment. Apple did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Politico reported the Justice Department has not made a decision whether to sue Apple, but the department’s antitrust division hopes to file suit by the end of the year.
F.T.C. agrees to remove Mark Zuckerberg as defendant in antitrust suit. The Federal Trade Commission has said it will remove Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Meta, from a lawsuit to block the company’s acquisition of Within Unlimited, an artificial intelligence start-up. The agency said in a court filing that it agreed to drop Mr. Zuckerberg as a defendant after Meta, formerly known as Facebook, promised he would not try to personally purchase Within Unlimited. Meta had asked the agency to remove Mr. Zuckerberg as a defendant. In June, the F.T.C. filed its complaint with U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to prevent Meta and Mr. Zuckerberg from acquiring Within, which makes the popular virtual-reality fitness app Supernatural.
Shipping container suppliers abandon $987 mln deal after U.S. probe. Global shipping container suppliers China International Marine Containers and Maersk Container Industry in a joint statement said they have abandoned a merger plan, citing significant regulatory challenges. China International Marine Containers in September had agreed to buy the Danish shipping company AP Moeller – Maersk’s refrigerated containers maker for $987.3 million. The U.S. Justice Department said the deal would have combined two of the world’s four suppliers of refrigerated shipping containers and further concentrated the global cold supply chain. The Justice Department said it “would also have consolidated control of over 90% of insulated container box and refrigerated shipping container production worldwide in Chinese state-owned or state-controlled entities.”