...Antitrust Practices Michael D. Kelley Chamberlain College of Nursing Principles of Economics Econ-312N Allison Thomas March 24, 2013 Antitrust Practices The search for a current antitrust case has led me to the Department of Justice (DOJ) website and to something near and dear to my heart, beer. Upon reading a few articles, it has been proposed by the DOJ that Anheuser-Busch has requested to buy Modello, the third largest brewer in the country, therefore threatening competition and subsequently changing the marketplace economics. Since there are two main producers of beer in the United States of America (USA) namely Anheuser-Busch (39%) and MillerCoors (26%) accounting for 65% of the marketplace, the merger of Anheuser-Busch and Modello, could potentially violate section & of the Clayton Act. Section & of the Clayton Act state when one company gain’s sufficient stock in an opposing company to the extent that competition would suffer as a whole, then the company acquiring the smaller competitor would be in violation of the Clayton Act, specifically Section 7. In this particular instance, Anheuser-Busch has part ownership in the Modello company, as is. If it is allowed to acquire the remaining portion of the company, it will be able to have such a market share in the beer industry; it can potentially drive up beer prices and upset the entire market. Anheuser-Busch claims it would sell its shares to the competitor, Constellation Corporation, allowing them...
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