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In recent years, unilateral effects in antitrust merger analysis have come to be associated with differentiated goods marketplaces ("Is Brand A the closest substitute for Brand B?"). But is the tide turning, so that unilateral effects will begin to reappear in agency reviews of mergers in relatively homogenous goods markets?
 
The distinguished panelists examined why coordination has been viewed as the appropriate theory of harm in such markets, and discussed how to model rigorously the antitrust economics of unilateral effects in such markets. The panel also looked at a case study that illustrates how these economic principles can be applied, and motivated a spirited discussion of what the antitrust analysis of mergers in such markets may look like as we go back to the future.

Moderator:

Dr. Lawrence Wu, President, NERA Economic Consulting

Speakers:

Dr. Chetan Sanghvi, Senior Vice President, NERA Economic Consulting; former Economics  Advisor to the Office of Commissioner Brill, Federal Trade Commission
Chetan Sanghvi recently rejoined NERA from the Federal Trade Commission, where he served as the Commission's expert economist in matters on a litigation track and was an economics advisor to the office of Commissioner Brill. While at the FTC, he also was the lead economist on an inter-agency Presidential task force on pricing and competition in the oil industry, and provided technical aid and training to the Competition Commission of India. His work covered numerous industries, including healthcare, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, search engines and the Internet, consumer and industrial products, entertainment, and retail services. Previously, he held senior positions at several economic consulting firms, and was an economist within the FTC's Bureau of Economics.

Darren Tucker, Senior Competition Advisor to Commissioner Joshua D. Wright, Federal Trade Commission; Partner, Bingham McCutchen LLP (effective 1 July)
Darren Tucker is senior competition adviser to FTC Commissioner Joshua D. Wright and previously served as the senior competition adviser to former FTC Commissioner J. Thomas Rosch. In that role, Mr. Tucker reviews and analyzes staff recommendations on all aspects of the FTC’s competition mission. Mr. Tucker was the principal drafter of the agency’s liability decision in In the Matter of North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners and the closing statement for ESI/Medco. He also helped develop the 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines and the FTC’s antitrust enforcement statement governing accountable-care organizations that service Medicare patients under the Affordable Care Act. Mr. Tucker will be joining Bingham McCutchen as a partner on 1 July.

Michael Weiner, Partner and Co-Chair, Antitrust/Competition Group, Dechert LLP
Michael Weiner is co-chair of Dechert's antitrust/competition group. He provides strategic advice, resolves government investigations, and effectively litigates for clients with antitrust issues in a broad range of industries. He is a frequent speaker and author on a wide range of antitrust/competition issues, and currently serves on the editorial board of World Competition Law and Economics Review. He is also the former editorial chair of Antitrust magazine, as well as a former Council Member and Officer of the ABA's Antitrust Section. Mr. Weiner has been named a national and New York "litigation star" in Benchmark Litigation, "recommended" in Legal 500, and listed in Chambers Global, Who's Who Legal, International Who's Who of Competition Lawyers, and Global Counsel Handbooks' Competition Law, as well as in The Best Lawyers in America.

To learn more, please contact Angela McLean at angela.mclean@nera.com.