Word: antitrust
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...business mergers have been moving at a record clip of 150 a month. But what sets the present wave of mergers apart is not so much its volume as its nature. Over 70% of the mergers have been of the conglomerate variety. The reason for this is that antitrust rulings have virtually outlawed "horizontal" mergers (between competitors) and, to a lesser extent, "vertical" ones (with suppliers or customers). As a result, today's merger-minded companies are looking for partners in industries far afield from their own, as in American Tobacco's current negotiations to acquire apparel-making...
...most important companies of the next decade," Geneen has swallowed up 44 smaller firms; they stretch across such diverse fields as auto rental (Avis), mutual-fund management (Hamilton), consumer finance (Aetna), book publishing (Bobbs-Merrill) and even airport parking. Though blocked so far by Justice Department antitrust litigation in his most ambitious effort-to acquire American Broadcasting Cos. -Geneen is still stalking new corporate game...
...first time, Congress is investigating the U.S. newspaper industry in depth. The impetus is a pending bill that would exempt consolidating newspapers from antitrust laws if one of the papers is "failing" financially. Already under way for two weeks, hearings by Senator Philip Hart's Antitrust and Monopoly Subcommittee promise to be controversial-and prolonged. They may well outlast this session of Congress, as witnesses deliver not only their opinions of the bill but of the industry's troubles in general...
...systems engineering or medical group practice. A case in point is Hill and Knowlton, today's biggest p.r. firm, with a client roster that includes the Iron and Steel Institute, Procter & Gamble, and Svetlana Alliluyeva. Explains H. & K. President Bert Goss: "Suppose a client walks in with an antitrust suit on his hands. One of our financial men can draft a memo to stockholders immediately; a writer will do a speech for the company president; another will huddle with a law professor and prepare a backgrounder on the legal aspects...
...competition, Rockwell tells of one prospective customer, who opted for a rival jet simply "because it has a bigger toilet." Rockwell-Standard, meanwhile, plans to merge with another jetmaker, North American Aviation, though the two companies announced last week that the deal will be delayed because of an antitrust objection raised by the Justice Department. North American's Sabreliner, while one of the most successful of the corporate jets, suffered a sharp decline following last October's investment tax credit suspension...