6 DAF/COMP/WD(2020)23
START-UPS, KILLER ACQUISITIONS AND MERGER CONTROL – NOTE BY THE UNITED STATES
Unclassified
the complaint, the DOJ reached an agreement with defendants to refer the matter to binding
arbitration on the issue of market definition if the parties were unable to resolve the
competitive concerns with the transaction within a certain period of time. After a 10-day
first-of-its-kind arbitration hearing, the arbitrator ruled for DOJ, holding that aluminum
auto body sheet constitutes a relevant product market, as the United States had alleged. As
a result, Novelis was required to divest Aleris’s entire aluminum auto body sheet operations
in North America to fully preserve competition.
14. In August 2019, the DOJ challenged Sabre Corporation’s proposed acquisition of
Farelogix under Section 7.
The DOJ alleged that the transaction would allow Sabre, the
largest airline booking services provider in the United States, to eliminate a disruptive
competitor that had introduced new technology to the travel industry and that was poised
to grow significantly. According to the complaint, the transaction would result in higher
prices, reduced quality, and less innovation. At trial, DOJ presented evidence that Sabre
had a history of engaging in anticompetitive tactics designed to undermine and delay the
adoption of Farelogix’s technology. In April 2020, the U.S. federal district court issued its
opinion, finding that Farelogix was a “disruptor” and a “successful” competitor of Sabre’s.
It further found that the “evidence suggests that Sabre will have the incentive to raise prices
. . . and stifle innovation” following the acquisition.
Notwithstanding these factual
findings, the court denied DOJ’s request to block the merger, ruling that it was bound by
the Supreme Court’s decision in Ohio v. American Express Co.
to hold that Sabre and
Farelogix do not compete in a relevant market. The DOJ filed a notice of appeal of the
court’s decision.
On May 1, 2020, Sabre and Farelogix terminated their merger
agreement.
On May 12, 2020, the DOJ moved in the Third Circuit to vacate the district
court’s decision, pursuant to the doctrine from United States v. Munsingwear, Inc., 340
U.S. 36 (1950), because the merging parties’ decision to abandon the merger rendered the
case moot, precluding the possibility of challenging the decision on appeal.
15. In 2018, the FTC challenged the merger of CDK Global and Auto/Mate.
CDK
was the market leader in specialized platform business software for franchise automotive
dealers. Auto/Mate was a much smaller competitor with an innovative business model that
was winning business from larger firms by offering lower prices, flexible contract terms,
low fees for third-party apps participating on the platform, free software upgrades and
training, and high-quality customer service. Although Auto/Mate was already competing
in the market, the FTC was concerned that the acquisition would eliminate its future
competitive significance. Auto/Mate’s impact on existing platforms indicated that its pre-
acquisition market share underrepresented its future market significance and the FTC
concluded that the acquisition would have eliminated competition from a key emerging
Complaint, United States v. Sabre Corp., No. 1:19-cv-01548-LPS (D. Del. Aug. 20, 2019),
https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1196816/download.
Opinion, United States v. Sabre Corp., 34, 87, Civil Action No. 1:19-cv-01548-LPS (D. Del. April 8, 2020)
Notice of Appeal, United States v. Sabre Corp. On April 9, 2020, the UK Competition and Markets Authority
blocked the transaction on the grounds that it would stifle innovation and competition. See Bloomberg Law, U.S. to
Appeal Sabre, Farelogix Merger Decision by Victoria Graham (Apr. 9, 2020),
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/mergers-and-antitrust/u-s-to-appeal-sabre-farelogix-merger-decision.
See DOJ Press Release, Statement from Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim on Sabre and Farelogix
Decision to Abandon Merger (May 1, 2020), https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/statement-assistant-attorney-general-
makan-delrahim-sabre-and-farelogix-decision-abandon.
In re CDK Global, Dkt. 9382 (complaint filed Mar. 20, 2018).