R. Dale Grimes Interviewed by Financial Times on FTC Scrutiny of Google and Apple
R. Dale Grimes, member at Bass, Berry & Sims PLC and leader of the firm’s Antitrust Practice Group, is interviewed regarding the recent scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission involving overlapping board members at Google and Apple, two companies that are seen as emerging competitors in many areas of business, and whether other companies should take stock of possible violations on their boards.
The December 7, 2009 article by Kristin Gribben for Agenda, a publication of The Financial Times, is titled “FTC Probes of Board Interlocks Cause Concern.”
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From the article:
There aren’t a lot of case studies on how to determine if two businesses overlap, says Dale Grimes, head of the antitrust and trade practices group at Bass, Berry & Sims. The term the FTC uses is “competitive sales,” and the FTC seems to apply that definition more broadly than in other contexts, he says.
In fact, some analysts didn’t think of Google and Apple as competitors.
While the solution to a violation of Section 8 is a relatively easy fix — have the director resign — boards might want to steer clear of federal scrutiny on any level. “It’s the kind of thing that could draw the attention of a regulator to your company and cause them to inquire about other things,” Grimes says.
Grimes, who did not advise Google or Apple on the FTC’s investigation, says that to an outsider looking at the situation it appears that two “sophisticated” companies were caught off guard, implying there is a lack of knowledge about this statute. “As a general matter, I think it would be wise for companies to look at these issues seriously,” he says.
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