November 12, 2019

The Antitrust Risks of Four to Three Mergers: Heightened Scrutiny of a Potential ThyssenKrupp/Kone Merger

Eric Fruits & Geoffrey A. Manne

Read ICLE's study by Eric Fruits and Geoffrey A. Manne, "The Antitrust Risks of Four To Three Mergers: Heightened Scrutiny of a Potential ThyssenKrupp/Kone Merger."

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

November 12, 2019

On the Antitrust Risks of Four to Three Mergers: A Case Study of a Potential ThyssenKrupp/Kone Merger

Eric Fruits & Geoffrey A. Manne

In anticipation of the long-rumored and much-discussed sale of ThyssenKrupp’s elevator business — the International Center for Law & Economics released "The Antitrust Risks of Four To Three Mergers: Heightened Scrutiny of a Potential ThyssenKrupp/Kone Merger," by Eric Fruits and Geoffrey A. Manne.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

October 22, 2019

Rising Concentration, Rising Prices: Not So Fast

Eric Fruits

Wall Street Journal commentator, Greg Ip, reviews Thomas Philippon’s forthcoming book, "The Great Reversal: How America Gave Up On Free Markets." Ip describes a “growing mountain” of research on industry concentration in the U.S. and reports that Philippon concludes competition has declined over time, harming U.S. consumers.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

October 1, 2019

Comments of ICLE, re: Tunney Act Review of the Sprint-T-Mobile Merger

Eric Fruits & Gus Hurwitz & Geoffrey A. Manne & Julian Morris & Alec Stapp

ICLE filed a letter summarizing its analysis of the relevant empirical literature on mobile carrier mergers as part of the Tunney Act review process.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

September 17, 2019

Vertical Mergers: Fast Food, Folklore, and Fake News

Eric Fruits

While the folklore of locking up distribution channels to eliminate double marginalization fits nicely with theory, the facts suggest a more mundane model of a firm scrambling to deliver shareholder wealth through diversification in the face of changing competition.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

September 17, 2019

A Review of the Empirical Evidence on the Effects of Market Concentration and Mergers in the Wireless Telecommunications Industry

Eric Fruits & Gus Hurwitz & Geoffrey A. Manne & Julian Morris & Alec Stapp

The merger between T-Mobile and Sprint has been characterized as a “4-to-3 merger” because after the merger there will be 3 national mobile network operators. Concerns have been raised regarding…

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

July 26, 2019

T-Mobile Sprints to the Finish Line: States Demand a Do-Over

Eric Fruits

T-Mobile/Sprint merger cleared with conditions, but some states keep pressing an unconvincing theory to block the merger. Why not view it as making a viable third national competitor which will benefit consumers across the country?

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

July 24, 2019

Merger Lore: Dispelling the Myth of the Maverick

Eric Fruits

The idea of the maverick firm requires that the firm play a critical role in the market. The maverick must be the firm that outflanks coordinated action or acts as a bulwark against unilateral action. By this loosey goosey definition of maverick, a single firm can make the difference between success or failure of anticompetitive behavior by its competitors.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

June 20, 2019

New Paper Reveals “Stealth” Consolidation But Competitive Effects Remain Hidden

Alec Stapp

ICLE Research Fellow Alec Stapp responds to a new paper by Thomas Wollman in the American Economic Review regarding “stealth” consolidation and its allegedly anticompetitive effects.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection