The agency has usually approved mergers of wireless carriers, but often requires them to give up licenses in markets where there would be little competition among carriers.
17, 2007 MERGERS "It's bad for competition when you have an administration that's willing to approve merger after merger with barely any scrutiny".
Almunia is in charge of major anti-monopoly investigations and approving mergers of companies with significant presence in the EU.
Regulators often approve mergers but require a company to sell its business in certain markets to a competitor.
But in the days after the vote, the Brussels machinery has acted normally, approving mergers, looking into state-aid cases, holding meetings and passing directives.
The biggest problem is that state utility commissions don't want their state to become another California, and are taking longer to approve mergers.
The complaint, filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, opposes an effort by AT&T to change its charter to require only a simple majority in shareholder votes to approve mergers, consolidations or dissolution of the company.
A government panel that regulates railroads proposed rules today that would end a bias toward approving mergers and would make applicants show that a combined railroad would enhance competition and function smoothly.
"But if the FCC will no longer approve mergers without Congressional blessing, why does it even need to exist?" So asks the Wall Street Journal, and so ask the good boys and girls shareholders who are tired of this charade.
Another concern is that regulators will be less likely to approve mergers, though Mr. Childs mentions that he has not seen any evidence of regulators taking longer to approve mergers.
