Global Competition Review cites Cornerstone Research in the Team Category for its work in T-Mobile’s $26 billion acquisition of Sprint and Disney’s $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox.
Washington, DC—Global Competition Review (GCR) recognized Cornerstone Research for its economic consulting in two high-profile matters involving merger control. The merger of T-Mobile and Sprint won GCR’s 2020 Matter of the Year Award, and Walt Disney Company’s Acquisition of 21st Century Fox Film and TV Studios was named Merger Control Matter of the Year in the Americas. Cornerstone Research has been involved in multiple cases recognized by GCR throughout the past decade. This is the second year in a row that the firm’s work has been honored in the Merger Control category.
T-Mobile/Sprint: Morrison & Foerster retained antitrust experts John Asker of UCLA, Timothy Bresnahan of Stanford University, and Kostis Hatzitaskos of Cornerstone Research to assist with the regulatory review of T-Mobile’s $26 billion merger with Sprint. After a 10-day trial, a New York federal court judge approved the merger.
Cornerstone Research supported Professors Asker and Bresnahan and Dr. Hatzitaskos in analyzing how consumers choose wireless carriers and how wireless carriers compete. This analysis used highly granular data comprising billions of data points on when, where, and how consumers use their mobile phones.
Disney/Fox: Cleary Gottlieb retained Aviv Nevo of the University of Pennsylvania and Cornerstone Research to assist in the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) regulatory review of Disney’s proposed acquisition of 21st Century Fox (21CF) film and TV studios and certain cable networks. Professor Nevo analyzed film and television production and distribution, sports programming, and cable networks.
The DOJ approved the acquisition subject to the divestiture of 21CF’s regional sports networks. The transaction officially closed in March 2019, after it received regulatory approvals in several jurisdictions outside the United States.
Apple v. Qualcomm: This matter won the award for Litigation of the Year Non-Cartel Defence. In this case, counsel for Qualcomm retained Cornerstone Research to support Aviv Nevo of the University of Pennsylvania. The case settled in April 2019 just as trial began.
GCR announced the awards at its tenth annual awards ceremony, held virtually on November 10.