WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday it had filed a lawsuit aimed at stopping Quad/Graphics Inc from buying LSC Communications, two of the biggest companies which print books, magazines, and catalogs.

The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division said that the two companies were each other’s biggest rivals, citing internal documents that refer to a price war between them and a “two-horse race between LSC and Quad.”

The $1.4 billion deal was announced in October 2018.

“American publishers and retailers rely on Quad and LSC to print and distribute billions of magazines, catalogs, and books each year,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “If this deal were allowed to proceed, Quad would dominate the markets for magazine, catalog, and book printing services and be able to raise prices.”

In its complaint, filed in federal court in Illinois, the Justice Department said that Quad and LSC were the only realistic option for many publishers because of their complex printing equipment. It cited at least one bidding war between the two that resulted in the offer of a $10 million signing bonus.

The complaint also noted that executives of the two companies had complained about the competition, with one lamenting that a publisher was “exploiting the fact that LSC [and] Quad[‘s] CEO’s want to beat each other into oblivion.”

A spokeswoman for Quad declined comment; no one from LSC was immediately available for comment. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday it had filed a lawsuit aimed at stopping Quad/Graphics Inc from buying LSC Communications, two of the biggest companies that print books, magazines and catalogs.

The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division said the two companies were each other’s biggest rivals, citing internal documents that refer to a price war and a “two-horse race between LSC and Quad.”

The $1.4 billion deal was announced in October 2018.

“American publishers and retailers rely on Quad and LSC to print and distribute billions of magazines, catalogs and books each year,” said Makan Delrahim, an assistant attorney general in the Antitrust Division. “If this deal were allowed to proceed, Quad would dominate the markets for magazine, catalog and book printing services and be able to raise prices.”

LSC Communications said in a statement the Justice Department “has reached the wrong conclusion in its assessment of the transaction,” adding that it will join Quad “in vigorously defending the lawsuit in court.”

Quad’s chief executive, Joel Quadracci, said the company is “fully committed to defending the DOJ’s lawsuit in court.”

In its complaint, filed in federal court in Illinois, the Justice Department said Quad and LSC were the only realistic option for many publishers because of their complex printing equipment. It cited at least one bidding war between the two that resulted in the offer of a $10 million signing bonus.

The complaint also noted that executives of the two companies had complained about the competition, with one lamenting that a publisher was “exploiting the fact that LSC [and] Quad[‘s] CEO’s want to beat each other into oblivion.” </s> Law360 (June 20, 2019, 10:00 PM EDT) -- The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday sued Quad/Graphics Inc. to halt the printing company’s planned $1.4 billion acquisition of a competitor, LSC Communications Inc., arguing the combined businesses would have too much market power. The two printing companies are each other’s “#1 competitor,” and a merger would leave customers seeking printing services with essentially only one option, prosecutors argued. “If this deal were allowed to proceed, Quad would dominate the markets for magazine, catalog, and book printing services and be able to raise prices and reduce quality at the expense of publishers, retailers, and, ultimately, American consumers,” Makan Delrahim of...

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TRY LAW360 FREE FOR SEVEN DAYS </s> WASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) - The Justice Department said on Thursday that it had filed a lawsuit aimed at stopping Quad/Graphics Inc from buying LSC Communications .

The $1.4 billion deal was announced in October 2018. Both companies print books, magazines, and catalogues. (Reporting by Diane Bartz Editing by Susan Thomas) </s> A federal judge Monday blocked the proposed merger of health insurers Aetna Inc. and Humana Inc. on antitrust grounds, a potentially fatal legal blow to the $34 billion deal.

U.S. District Judge John D. Bates ruled the Justice Department had proven its case that the merger would unlawfully threaten competition.

The judge said the transaction could mean higher prices and reduced services for seniors who purchase the private Medicare plans known as Medicare Advantage. He also said the merger would harm competition on public insurance exchanges in parts of Florida.

Aetna and Humana didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Shares of the companies fell 2.2% and 2.4%, respectively, in midday trading.

Aetna and Humana announced their planned merger in July 2015, saying the deal would allow them to offer more cost-effective products by combining their strengths and becoming more efficient. Justice Department antitrust enforcers filed a lawsuit challenging the transaction a year later. A trial took place last month.

The Aetna-Humana deal is one of two major health insurance mergers being challenged by the Justice Department. The department simultaneously sued to block the proposed combination of Anthem Inc. and Cigna Corp. A trial in that case took place in the same courthouse and a different judge, Amy Berman Jackson, is expected to rule soon.

The lawsuits were among the last major law enforcement actions taken by Obama administration antitrust officials.
The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Justice Department files a lawsuit against two large printing companies contemplating a merger. If the deal is allowed to proceed, the filings claim, the combined company would dominate the market for printing magazines, catalogs and books.