Valorem Research's Lionel Hutz provides his Spirit / JetBlue post-trial breakdown

Dec 20, 2023

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Alphasense

Guest

Philadelphia National

Lionel Hutz, editor of Valorem Research Newsletter, provides a breakdown of the Spirit / JetBlue trial. Topics discussed include the DOJ's case, harm in local markets, JetBlue's arguments, expert witnesses, relevant markets, evidence supporting each side, timing of ruling, and the legacy of the outcome.

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Introduction

00:00 • 2min

Government's Manipulative Tactics

01:58 • 9min

Understanding the Three Steps in the Merger Review Process and the Role of Evidence

10:42 • 3min

Assessing harm in local markets and the DOJ's characterization of the relevant market

13:15 • 19min

JetBlue's Expert Witnesses and Trial Strategy

32:45 • 21min

Deutsch-Saulicon Case and T-Mobile-Sprint Merger

53:23 • 9min

Exploring AlphaSense sponsorship and discussing timing of a ruling

01:02:30 • 3min

The Risks and Uncertainties of Concentrating on Financial Advice

01:05:02 • 11min

Lionel Hutz, Editor of the Valorem Research Newsletter on Substack, joins the podcast today to provide his Spirit / JetBlue post-trial breakdown.

For more information about Valorem Research and to subscribe, please visit: https://www.valoremresearch.com/ Chapters:

[0:00] Introduction + Episode sponsor: Alphasense

[1:44] General takeaways from Spirit / JetBlue post-trial and post-trial briefs

[7:56] DOJ's case, what citing of Philadelphia National and Baker Hughes cases as precedents means

[13:17] Harm to local markets - thoughts on this framework as it applies to the bear case

[16:04] JetBlue's "having it both ways" arguments and where Lionel thinks JetBlue scored points with their arguments

[23:21] 51 presumptive markets and how they are relevant to this case + the government's skepticism of divestitures

[33:20] How JetBlue and the government handled the expert witness, what deficiencies that JetBlue finds with the government witnesses

[39:39] Government's points regarding the hot docs

[42:40] How precedent being used to support both sides of the case

[50:03] Evidence supporting JetBlue's position and evidence supporting DOJ's position

[57:26] The fourth bear case on relevant markets

[1:03:35] Timing on ruling

[1:12:33] Legacy of the outcome for this case

Today's episode is sponsored by: Alphasense

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