January 22, 2014
Northern District of California Decision Finds Bazaarvoice Merger Violates Clayton Act
Arnold & Porter Advisory
On January 8, 2014, Judge Orrick of the Northern District of California found that a consummated merger between Bazaarvoice and PowerReviews violated Section 7 of the Clayton Act. The court conducted a traditional Horizontal Merger Guidelines analysis, finding that the Department of Justice established a prima facie case of likely competitive harm and Bazaarvoice failed to rebut it. In and of itself the conclusion that a merger to monopoly violates the Clayton Act may not be surprising, but there are a number of points worth considering in the court's opinion.
