In what some see as a surprise move, the Department of Justice filed suit to block the AT&T-Time Warner merger, claiming the merger would harm consumers, innovation, and competition. AT&T has announced that it plans to fight the challenge in court, asserting that it and Time Warner are not competitors, that the merger would allow AT&T to compete with Google and Facebook, and that the Justice Department has a long history of approving such vertical mergers. In addition to contrasting interests in vertical versus horizontal mergers, the case presents an opportunity to examine structural remedies (including a requirement that merging companies spin off certain assets to gain merger approval) versus consent decrees, which typically restrict company behavior after a merger is completed and might require monitoring of the merged entity by the government. These and other issues will be discussed.

Featuring:
Prof. Richard A. Epstein, Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law and Director, Classical Liberal Institute, New York University School of Law

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