AT&T Case Shows Antitrust Mettle
As appeared in The Wall Street Journal, and picked up by The Atlantic
December 21, 2011
Deal makers are looking for looking for some learning opportunities in the collapse of AT&T’s proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile. They are also seeking to understand the Justice Department’s patterns of enforcement in horizontal versus vertical deals.
According to Partner Robert Bell, Co-Chair of Kaye Scholer’s Antitrust practice, it is easier for companies to argue that they can create cost savings for consumers in vertical deals.
“It's much more difficult for the government to convince a court to block a merger on a vertical theory," Bell explained.
Referring to the fact that the deal could have been tied up for more than a year, even if the parties prevailed in court, Bell added, "Realistically, the companies had two different fights they had to win. That made it quite improbable they could get this through within their time limits."