DOJ Enforces Non-Solicitation Merger Remedy [telecom]

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In his antitrust column, Elai Katz analyzes a recent settlement that highlights two important antitrust policy points.

By Elai Katz

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) agreed to settle charges that a telecommunications company violated a previous settlement agreement put in place to resolve a merger investigation and permit the merger to proceed. DOJ asserted that the company violated the prior agreement by soliciting customers of a business that it had agreed to divest. The divestiture and related non-solicitation provisions were designed to address government concerns that the proposed acquisition of another telecommunications company would have lessened competition in the market for fiber-optic-based telecommunications services in three cities.