DealLawyers.com Blog

November 14, 2005

Acquisition of Non-Controlling Partial Ownership Interest in Competitor May Violate Antitrust Laws

An important – and largely unresolved – question in the antitrust law has been answered: whether the acquisition of a partial, non-controlling, ownership interest in a competitor raises serious issues under the Clayton Act. On October 25th, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held in United States v. Dairy Farmers of America, Docket No. 04-6318, that such partial acquisitions may raise substantial antitrust issues. Read more about this case in our “Antitrust” Practice Area.