U.S. government versus corporate mergers
Recent notable cases in which the U.S. government has tried to stop a corporate merger:
1997: The Federal Trade Commission blocks the merger of office-supply superstore chains Staples Inc. and Office Depot Inc.
1998: The Justice Department sues to block Lockheed Martin Corp.’s $11.6-billion acquisition of aviation rival Northrop Grumman Corp. Four months later, Lockheed drops its bid.
2000: The $120-billion merger of long-distance telephone companies WorldCom Inc. and Sprint Corp. is opposed in court by the Justice Department. The deal is called off two weeks later.
2001: US Airways and United Airlines parent UAL Corp. call off their $12.3-billion merger after the Justice Department says it will sue to block it.
2002: The Federal Communications Commission blocks EchoStar Communications Corp.’s proposed $16-billion buyout of satellite television rival DirecTV.
2004: Software maker Oracle Corp. overcomes objections by the Justice Department in court and goes ahead with a $10.3-billion hostile takeover of rival PeopleSoft Inc.
