Bazaarvoice Trial Will Test Antitrust Question For Done Deals

New York-based Antitrust Group counsel, Oliver Antoine speaks to Law360 about the Department of Justice's upcoming trial to fight Bazaarvoice's purchase of PowerReviews Inc. The DOJ's success will likely hinge on whether the company can counter comments from its own executives boasting that the tie-up would stifle competition with evidence that the 15-month-old deal hasn't actually harmed the market. Antoine comments, "Every time you have a challenge in a consummated deal you have a data point that you don't have otherwise, [and] if there's no evidence of post-closing consumer harm, the question is why. It'll be interesting to see whether this is really a differentiator here, considering they had very little time outside of the regulatory process even though it's a consummated deal."