Judge Looks Into Modifying Terms of 2 Phone Mergers

JUDGE LOOKS INTO MODIFYING TERMS OF 2 PHONE MERGERS
[SOURCE: New York Times 7/8, AUTHOR: Stephen Labaton]
A federal district judge in Washington is considering the imposition of major modifications to the two largest telephone mergers in history: SBC Communication's acquisition of AT&T and Verizon's purchase of MCI. In a surprising order issued Friday afternoon, Judge Emmet G. Sullivan raised a series of questions about the Bush administration's review of the two deals that he said should be answered by the Justice Department and the phone companies at a hearing next week. Both deals have already closed, and lawyers said that the judge could not unravel them, although he could try to impose significant conditions or divestitures. The proceedings will probably shed light on the administration's antitrust enforcement program at a time when officials have put up virtually no roadblocks to deals and imposed few restrictions in other areas of antitrust law. Still, the proceedings could affect the government's review of BellSouth's proposed acquisition by AT&T, the name the company took after AT&T was swallowed by SBC. The proceedings are also the first significant test of changes in the law that have given federal judges greater authority to scrutinize antitrust settlements.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/08/business/08antitrust.html
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