(Reuters) – The $3.8 billion merger between JetBlue Airways Corp and Spirit Airlines Inc is in the crosshairs of the U.S. Justice Department, making it the latest major deal to attract tough regulatory scrutiny.
Large deals, including Nvidia Corp’s bid to buy UK-based chip firm Arm Ltd, have been abandoned following regulatory hurdles.
Here is a list of some mergers that faced strong antitrust scrutiny under the Biden regime:
DEALS UNDER SCRUTINY
DEAL CONTEXT
DEAL VALUE
Microsoft $69 billion “Microsoft has already shown
– that it can and will withhold
Activision content from its gaming
Blizzard rivals,” Holly Vedova,
director of the FTC’s Bureau of
Competition said in the
complaint.
Meta Unknown The Biden administration on
Platforms Dec. 8 accused Meta of trying
– Within to buy its way to dominance in
the metaverse, kicking off a
high-profile trial to try to
prevent the Facebook parent
from buying virtual reality app
developer Within Inc.
Amazon.com $1.7 billion The FTC in September asked the
– iRobot companies for more information
on the buyout.
The probe was launched to check
if the deal would illegally
boost the e-commerce giant’s
market share in the connected
devices market as well as the
overall retail market,
according to Politico.
Kroger – $25 billion Kroger on Dec.6 said it
Albertsons received a request for
Companies additional information from the
FTC as part of the regulatory
review process of the merger.
$3.8 The U.S. Justice
JetBlue-S billion Department
pirit filed
a lawsuit on
March. 7 to stop JetBlue
Airways from buying Spirit
Airlines, saying the planned
$3.8 billion merger “would put
travel out of reach for many
cost-conscious travelers.”
DEALS BLOCKED & ABANDONED
DEAL CONTEXT
DEAL
VALUE
Nvidia Corp – Arm More than SoftBank Group Corp in February
$80 shelved its blockbuster sale of
billion Arm Ltd to the U.S. chipmaker.
The FTC argued that competition
in the nascent markets for
chips in self-driving cars and
a new category of networking
chips could be hurt.
Penguin Random $2.2 Penguin owner Bertelsmann
House – Simon & billion scrapped the merger in
Schuster November. The Biden
administration said the deal
should be stopped because it
would lead to less competition
for blockbuster books and lower
advances for authors who earn
$250,000 or more.
Aon Plc – Willis $30 The companies called off the
Towers Watson Plc billion merger that would have created
the world’s largest insurance
broker in July last year.
The DOJ argued the combination
would broadly reduce
competition and lead to higher
prices.
Lockheed Martin – $4.4 U.S. arms maker called off
Aerojet billion plans to acquire rocket engine
Rocketdyne maker Aerojet in February. FTC
Holdings said a deal would allow
Lockheed to use its control of
Aerojet to hurt other defense
contractors.
DEALS THAT WENT THROUGH
DEAL CONTEXT
DEAL VALUE
UnitedHeal About $8 billion The deal’s completion in
th Group – October follows a U.S.
Change judge denying the Justice
Healthcare department’s bid to stop
it. The DoJ had said access
to the target’s claims
would give UnitedHealth a
view into rivals’ health
plans.
Illumina – $7.1 billion FTC’s chief administrative
Grail judge ruled in favor of the
companies, in a blow to the
regulatory body.
The FTC said in September
it would appeal the
decision.
(Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Anil D’Silva)
