NERA Economic Consulting Experts Assist US Department of Justice in Milk Antitrust Case

25 August 2011

New York -- NERA Economic Consulting Special Consultant Dr. Michael Baye and Vice President Dr. Graeme Hunter provided economic analysis to assist the US Department of Justice (DOJ) in successfully resolving the case of United States, State of Wisconsin, State of Illinois, and State of Michigan v. Dean Foods Company.

The DOJ and the states of Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin brought the case against Dean Foods in 2010, alleging that Dean's acquisition of assets from Foremost Farms USA violated Section 7 of the Clayton Act. The acquisition reportedly gave Dean control of up to 60% of all milk sales in northeastern Illinois. On 29 July 2011, Dean Foods agreed to a proposed settlement in the case, requiring the company to divest a milk processing plant in Waukesha, Wisconsin. The settlement satisfied the DOJ's competitive concerns.

Dr. Baye is the Bert Elwert Professor of Business at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business. His research focuses on pricing strategies and their impact on consumer welfare, and firm profits in both online and traditional markets. His academic work on mergers, auctions, patents, advertising, online markets, and other areas related to antitrust and consumer protection has been published in leading economics and marketing journals. Dr. Baye received his PhD and MS in economics from Purdue University.

Dr. Hunter is a member of NERA's Global Antitrust Practice, where his work focuses on analysis of the competitive effects of mergers and the effects of alleged anticompetitive behavior, assessing liability and damages. He has conducted research, prepared analyses, and contributed to litigation involving a broad range of market power issues, including price fixing, bid rigging, tying, and predatory pricing. He received his PhD and MA in Economics from New York University.

About NERA

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