Mondaq Business Briefing -Kilpatrick Stockton LLPUnited States - Joint Ventures Subject to Increased Antitrust Scrutiny.

(From Mondaq.com)

Recently, Assistant Attorney General Charles James stated that the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division plans to subject joint ventures to increased scrutiny. "Joint ventures are a high priority for the division," James told the American Bar Association's Section of Antitrust Law. The DOJ is currently investigating joint ventures in the on-line media, financial services and electronic airline ticketing sectors.

Joint ventures have become an increasingly common business tactic as an alternative to mergers. The DOJ plans to subject joint ventures to even tougher scrutiny than mergers, in part, because joint ventures have become an …