Apple, Google Boards of Directors Lose Members as FTC Investigates Overlaps

This posting was written by Jeffrey May, Editor of CCH Trade Regulation Reporter.

Google announced yesterday that a member of its corporate board of directors, who was also a member of Apple’s corporate board, had stepped down.

Google did not give a reason for the resignation of Dr. Arthur Levinson. However, it follows an August 3 announcement by Apple that Google's chief executive officer, Eric E. Schmidt, was stepping down from Apple's board.

At that time, Apple said that Schmidt's departure was a mutual decision and necessary in light of growing competition between the firms.

“Unfortunately, as Google enters more of Apple's core businesses, with Android and now Chrome OS, Eric's effectiveness as an Apple Board member will be significantly diminished, since he will have to recuse himself from even larger portions of our meetings due to potential conflicts of interest,” said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO.

FTC Reaction

In response to Google’s announcement about Levinson’s resignation, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said:

“Google, Apple, and Mr. Levinson should be commended for recognizing that overlapping board members between competing companies raise serious antitrust issues and for their willingness to resolve our concerns without the need for litigation.”

Leibowitz added that the agency would “continue to monitor companies that share board members and take enforcement actions where appropriate.”

Government Challenges

The FTC disclosed in August that it was investigating Google/Apple interlocking directorates. Sec. 8 of the Clayton Act conditionally prohibits interlocking directorates in competing corporations. Yet, government challenges to the overlaps are rare.

Over the last few decades, there have only been a handful of government challenges. The most recent Department of Justice complaint alleging a Clayton Act, Sec. 8 violation was filed in 2007. In that case, the government challenged CommScope Inc.'s proposed $2.6 billion acquisition of Andrew Corporation to preserve competition for drop cable.

The government contended that the transaction would have given CommScope the ability to appoint directors to the board of Andes, a substantial competitor, in violation of Sec. 8 of the Clayton Act. The suit was resolved by a consent decree (2008-2 Trade Cases ¶76,247). (See December 10, 2007 entry, Trade Regulation Talk.)

Yesterday’s announcement by the FTC could signal a move toward greater scrutiny of interlocks, however, especially between high profile companies like Google and Apple.

The Google announcement appears here on the company website. Commissioner Leibowitz’s statement is available here.