Antitrust regulation

BRUSSELS -- The European Union’s anti-trust watchdog announced on Tuesday that it is blocking the buyout of cancer-screening company GRAIL by biotech giant Illumina in a rare move by European regulators against two U.S. companies.Illumina…

NEW YORK -- The Federal Trade Commission is investigating Amazon’s $3.9 billion acquisition of the primary health organization One Medical, a move that could delay the completion of the deal.Both One Medical and Amazon received a request…

Microsoft’s plan to buy video game giant Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion could have major effects on the gaming industry, transforming the Xbox maker into something like a Netflix for video games by giving it control of many more…

Five years ago, Amazon closed its $13.7 billion purchase of Whole Foods, by far the biggest acquisition ever for the e-commerce and cloud computing giant. Since then, Amazon has made a lot of changes to the specialty grocer, from lowering…

Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines agreed Wednesday to abandon their merger proposal, opening the way for JetBlue Airways to acquire Spirit after a months-long bidding war for the budget carrier.The decision by Spirit and Frontier to…

JetBlue Airways is buying Spirit Airlines for $3.8 billion in a deal that could increase competition at the top end of the U.S. airline industry while eliminating the largest discount airline for travelers on a tight budget.The agreement…

LONDON -- Microsoft's acquisition of game publisher Activision Blizzard faces antitrust scrutiny in the U.K., where competition regulators said Wednesday they've opened an initial inquiry into the $69 billion deal. The Competition and…

An Amazon warehouse in Warrington, England.Nathan Stirk | Getty ImagesThe U.K.'s antitrust regulator on Wednesday said it is investigating Amazon over whether the U.S. e-commerce giant is hurting competition by giving an unfair advantage to…

Frontier Airlines on Friday added more cash and a larger breakup fee to its offer to buy Spirit Airlines, and the Spirit board repeated its preference for Frontier over a rival bid by JetBlue Airways.Frontier added $2 per share to its…

DALLAS -- The prospect of a takeover of Spirit Airlines threatens to upend the cheap-fare end of the industry much like a series of mergers among big airlines reduced choices for travelers.Spirit is the largest budget airline in the United…