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The San Francisco federal court had ruled in favor of Microsoft on Tuesday, saying the FTC had failed to show the deal would be illegal under antitrust law. "The FTC asks this Court to enjoin the merger at issue pending resolution of the FTC’s appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The FTC had said it was seeking a preliminary injunction to temporarily stop the deal until an internal FTC judge could assess it. It is rare for a merger fight to go to an appeals court. The agency settled with the companies before the appeals court made a decision.

Persons: We're, Brad Smith, Jacqueline Scott Corley, Corley, Diane Bartz, David Shepardson, Kanishka Singh, Tim Ahmann, Josie Kao, Jamie Freed Organizations: U.S . Federal Trade Commission, Microsoft, Activision, San, FTC, Ninth Circuit, Appeals, Nintendo, Britain's, Markets Authority, Foods, Oats, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, Britain, California

WASHINGTON, July 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) asked a federal court on Thursday for a stay that would prevent Microsoft (MSFT.O) from closing its $69 billion purchase of "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O). A federal judge had ruled for Microsoft on Tuesday, saying the agency had failed to show the deal would be illegal under antitrust law. The FTC appealed that loss late on Wednesday, and Microsoft has said it would fight that appeal. In its motion, the FTC asked for an order that would prevent the deal from closing until after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled on a separate stay request filed with that court.

Persons: Jacqueline Scott Corley, Diane Bartz, Tim Ahmann, Josie Kao Organizations: U.S . Federal Trade Commission, Microsoft, Activision, FTC, U.S, Circuit, Appeals, Britain's, Markets Authority, Thomson Locations: Britain, California

[1/2] An American Airlines Airbus A321-200 plane takes off from Los Angeles International airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, California, U.S. March 28, 2018. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin said the partnership "substantially diminishes competition in the domestic market for air travel." Garland said the Justice Department will continue to protect competition and enforce U.S. antitrust laws across industries, including the airline industry. The judge gave the airlines 30 days to end the alliance. TD Cowen analyst Helane Becker said she believes the American JetBlue ruling "has negative implications for the JetBlue/Spirit merger."

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin said the partnership "substantially diminishes competition in the domestic market for air travel." American is the largest U.S. airline by fleet size and low-cost carrier JetBlue is the sixth-largest. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The judge gave the airlines 30 days to end the alliance. TD Cowen analyst Helane Becker said she believes the American JetBlue ruling "has negative implications for the JetBlue/Spirit merger."

WASHINGTON, May 19 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge ruled on Friday that American Airlines Group (AAL.O) must end its alliance with JetBlue Airways Corp (JBLU.O), agreeing with the U.S. Justice Department that it means higher prices for consumers. U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin said the agreement "entangles JetBlue with American in a way that diminishes its status as an independent low-cost player in the market." The judge gave the airlines 30 days to end the alliance. The department sued in 2021 asking Sorokin to stop the "Northeast Alliance" partnership, announced in July 2020 and approved by the U.S. Transportation Department shortly before the end of the Trump administration. It took aim at American Airlines, saying the alliance would cost consumers hundreds of millions of dollars.

The complaint, which was filed in Boston federal court, said that JetBlue planned to remove 10% to 15% of seats from every Spirit plane. "Fewer seats means fewer passengers - and higher prices for those who can still afford to make their way onto the plane. Spirit shares were up about 1.8% on Tuesday after dipping the previous day on expectations of a lawsuit. JetBlue had previously said it expected the deal to close in early 2024, leaving time for litigation if necessary. JetBlue prevailed in a months-long bidding war for Spirit Airlines after the ultra-low-cost carrier accepted its offer in late July.

WASHINGTON, March 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to stop JetBlue Airways (JBLU.O) from buying Spirit Airlines <SAVE.N>, saying that the planned merger "would put travel out of reach for many cost-conscious travelers." The complaint, which was filed in Boston federal court, said that JetBlue planned to remove 10% to 15% of seats from every Spirit plane. This is unlikely to stop business travelers flying on corporate expense accounts, but would put travel out of reach for many cost-conscious travelers," the complaint said. JetBlue had previously said it expected the deal to close in early 2024, leaving time for litigation if necessary. JetBlue prevailed in a months-long bidding war for Spirit Airlines after the ultra-low-cost carrier accepted its offer in late July.

WASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters) - JetBlue Airways Corp (JBLU.O) said on Monday it believes there is a "high likelihood" the U.S. Justice Department will file an antitrust lawsuit this week to block its $3.8 billion takeover of low-cost rival Spirit Airlines Inc (SAVE.N). JetBlue said in a statement that it accounted for the possibility of a lawsuit when it provided a timeline to close the deal in the first half of 2024. JetBlue prevailed in a months-long bidding war for Spirit Airlines after the ultra-low-cost carrier accepted its offer in late July. JetBlue Chief Executive Robin Hayes said on Monday he expected a government lawsuit to stop the deal and that the company would fight it, the Wall Street Journal reported. JetBlue is also awaiting the outcome of a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Justice Department which asks the court to force JetBlue and American to scrap its Northeast Alliance.

WASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters) - JetBlue Airways (JBLU.O) said Monday it believes the U.S. Justice Department has a "high likelihood" of filing an antitrust lawsuit this week to block its $3.8 billion takeover of low-cost rival Spirit Airlines Inc (SAVE.N). "We have always accounted for that in our timeline to close the transaction in the first half of 2024," JetBlue said in a statement to Reuters. The Transportation Department, which is also reviewing the deal, is expected to take parallel action to stop the planned transaction, Bloomberg News reported said. JetBlue prevailed in a months-long bidding war for Spirit Airlines after the ultra-low-cost carrier accepted its offer in late July. JetBlue Chief Executive Robin Hayes said on Monday he expected a government lawsuit to stop the deal and that the company would fight it, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The lawsuit tackles a business at Google that is responsible for 80 percent of its revenue. The Justice Department asked the court to compel Google to break up its ad technology business. Eight states joined the department in Tuesday's lawsuit, including Google's home state of California. The lawsuit says "Google has thwarted meaningful competition and deterred innovation in the digital advertising industry." In addition to its well-known search, which is free, Google makes revenue through its interlocking ad tech businesses, which connect advertisers with newspapers, websites and other firms looking to host them.

REUTERS/Benoit TessierWASHINGTON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google on Tuesday over allegations that the company abused its dominance of the digital advertising business. "Google has used anticompetitive, exclusionary, and unlawful means to eliminate or severely diminish any threat to its dominance over digital advertising technologies," the government said in its antitrust complaint. The Justice Department asked the court to compel Google to divest its Google Ad manager suite, including its ad exchange AdX. The lawsuit is the second federal antitrust complaint filed against Google, alleging violations of antitrust law in how the company acquires or maintains its dominance. The Justice Department lawsuit filed against Google in 2020 focuses on its monopoly in search and is scheduled to go to trial in September.

"This settlement makes it clear that companies must be transparent in how they track customers and abide by state and federal privacy laws." Arizona filed a similar case against Google and settled it for $85 million in October 2022. Texas, Indiana, Washington State and the District of Columbia sued Google in January over what they called deceptive location-tracking practices that invade users’ privacy. A consumer's location is key to helping an advertiser cut through the digital clutter to make the ad more relevant and grab the consumer's attention. Writing by Diane Bartz and Alexandra Alper; Editing by Anna Driver and Aurora EllisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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