Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, WORTH NOTING: Other Antitrust and Trade Regulation developments, (Aug 7, 2026)

By WK Editorial Staff

A periodic roundup of other items of interest to the Antitrust and Trade Regulation community.

ANTITRUST NEWS: Herbert D. Lutz, a South Carolina manager of a bovine artificial insemination firm, pleaded guilty to rigging bids for the purchase of cattle used either for the direct production of semen or for the development of animals for future semen production. In advance of cattle auctions, Lutz and his co-conspirators agreed which company would win the bid. During the sales, the agreed-upon losing firm would either not bid or would submit an intentionally-losing bid before bowing out to permit the agreed-upon winner to prevail. Lutz is the first defendant to be charged and to plead guilty in the ongoing investigation into bid rigging in the bovine artificial insemination industry.

ANTITRUST NEWS: The European Commission has sent a Statement of Grounds to Temu's owner PDD Holdings Inc. and its subsidiary WhaleCo Technology Limited, outlining concerns that they may have obstructed an inspection at WhaleCo's premises in Ireland. The Statement of Grounds follows an unannounced inspection under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation. The Commission conducted the inspections following indications that Temu may have received foreign subsidies that distort the internal market. The aim of the inspection was to gather evidence in support of its investigation into potentially distortive foreign subsidies granted to Temu.

ANTITRUST NEWS: Broadcom Inc. and VMware International Unlimited Company were unsuccessful in their bid, in an antitrust case, to suspend the operation of Commission Decision C(2026) 1477 final of 26 February 2026 relating to a proceeding pursuant to Article 18(3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 (Case AT.40924 – VMware software licensing) to the extent that that decision requires the two software companies to produce documents protected by professional privilege by the law of third countries, until the court has ruled on the action for annulment, a General Court of the European Union has ruled. In its ruling, the court said “even if the applicants might have had a legitimate expectation that communications between lawyer and client, including communications from in-house lawyers, would remain confidential under US law, such an expectation would apply only to requests from US authorities.”

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS NEWS: The European Commission has approved the creation of a joint venture EPL Ltd., including Indovida India, both of India, by Indorama Netherlands B.V. of the Netherlands, controlled by Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited of Thailand, and Epsilon Bidco Pte. Ltd. of Singapore, controlled by Blackstone Inc. of the US. The transaction relates to the manufacturing and sale of plastic packaging products and PET materials. The Commission concluded that the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, given the companies' limited combined market position resulting from the proposed transaction. The notified transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure.

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS NEWS: The European Commission has approved the acquisition of joint control of Formosa 2 International Investment Co., Ltd of Taiwan by the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (‘PSPIB') of Canada and JERA Nex bp Limited of the UK. The transaction relates primarily to the sector of offshore wind farms in Taiwan. The Commission concluded that the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, given the limited impact on the European Economic Area. The notified transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure.

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS NEWS: The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of sole control of Flender Group GmbH of Germany by Triton Fund 6 GP SARL of Luxembourg, controlled by The Carlyle Group, Inc. of the U.S. The transaction relates primarily to mechanical drive products, generators, systems and services for industrial applications, power generation and the wind power industry. The Commission concluded that the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, given that the companies are not active in the same or vertically related markets. The notified transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure.

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS NEWS: The European Commission has approved the acquisition of sole control of Terras Gruppe GmbH of Germany by H.I.G. Europe Middle Market LBO Fund II, SCSp of Luxembourg. The transaction relates primarily to the civil engineering sector and related services. The Commission concluded that the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, given that the companies are not active in the same or vertically related markets. The notified transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure.

ADVERTISING—S.D. Cal.: A consumer complaint alleging that The Hershey Salty Snack Sales Company, The Hershey Company, SkinnyPop Popcorn, LLC (collectively “Defendants”) violated both California consumer protection statutes and federal law by misleading consumers through false advertising of their SkinnyPop popcorn snack product was dismissed by the federal district court in San Diego. Plaintiffs alleged that after measuring eleven bags of SkinnyPop, they determined Defendants “regularly underfill the described volume/number of cups on the SkinnyPop Popcorn bags.” They asserted that, because of the discrepancies in volume, Plaintiffs claim that “there are significantly more calories per serving of SkinnyPop popcorn than advertised.” The court determined that a reasonable consumer would not rely solely on volume when purchasing popcorn and that Plaintiffs could not plausibly prove that a reasonable consumer would be misled by SkinnyPop’s labels without also alleging facts related to how the weight of the popcorn varies from what is on the labels. Because they failed to allege facts showing that the weight of the popcorn is inconsistent with the statements on SkinnyPop’s label, the California consumer protection law claims failed (Bogren v. The Hershey Salty Snack Sales Co., No. 3:24-cv-01635-BJC-JLB (S.D. Cal. Jul. 30, 2026)).

FRANCHISING & DISTRIBUTION NEWS: Franchise operator Venue Smart Pty Ltd has paid $59,400 in penalties after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission issued three infringement notices for separate alleged contraventions of the Franchising Code of Conduct 2024. Venue Smart Pty Ltd is an Australian proprietary limited company that franchises a business trading under the same name. The franchise offers in-store and online payment services to businesses across Australia. The ACCC alleged that Venue Smart Pty Ltd breached the code by failing to: (1) prepare an annual financial statement as required by the code for its marketing fund for the 2024-25 financial year; (2) keep a separate account with a financial institution for franchisee payments into its marketing fund for the 2024-25 financial year; and (3) provide the required information for inclusion on the franchise disclosure register at least 14 days before entering into a franchise agreement with a prospective franchisee.

STATE UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES—D. Mass.: AvalonBay Communities, Inc., a landlord with ownership interests in approximately 306 apartment communities in eleven states and the District of Columbia, was unable to dismiss the claim for violation of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93A brought by a tenant at the Avalon at Assembly Row apartment building in Somerville, Massachusetts, owned by one of AvalonBay’s subsidiaries. The claim challenged AvalonBay’s practice of assessing attorney fees and court costs prior to a judgment of eviction by a court. The federal district court in Boston first held that the Chapter 93A claim is not necessarily duplicative of the breach of contract claim. Next, the court cited caselaw finding that, under some circumstances, “it is plausible that assessing legal fees” against a tenant “prior to a court judgment falls ‘within at least the penumbra’ of a common law ‘concept of unfairness.’” Cordeiro v. Grep Atl., LLC, 2025 WL 889460, at *3 (D. Mass. Mar. 21, 2025). Here, the challenged practices also fell within the penumbra of a common law concept of unfairness, and were therefore sufficient to state a claim for violation of Chapter 93A, according to the court. Thus, the complaint states a claim upon which relief can be granted for violation of Chapter 93A, and the motion to dismiss was denied (Almeida v. AvalonBay Communities, Inc., No. 1:25-cv-12884-FDS (D. Mass. Aug. 5, 2026)).

Attorneys: Alicja Agata Urtnowski (Consumer and Employment Lawyers) for Cade Bogren. Naoki S. Kaneko (Shook Hardy and Bacon L.L.P.) for The Hershey Salty Snack Sales Co. Edward Maginnis (Maginnis Howard) for Lisa Almeida. Mathilda McGee-Tubb (Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, PC) for AvalonBay Communities, Inc.

Companies: Broadcom Inc.; VMware International Unlimited Company; The Hershey Salty Snack Sales Co.; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; EPL Ltd.; Indovida India; Indorama Netherlands B.V.; Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited; Epsilon Bidco Pte. Ltd.; Blackstone Inc.; Formosa 2 International Investment Co., Ltd; Public Sector Pension Investment Board; JERA Nex bp Limited; Flender Group GmbH; Triton Fund 6 GP SARL; The Carlyle Group, Inc.; Terras Gruppe GmbH; H.I.G. Europe Middle Market LBO Fund II, SCSp; PDD Holdings Inc.; WhaleCo Technology Limited; Venue Smart Pty Ltd

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