FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2004 WWW.USDOJ.GOV AT (202) 514-2007 TDD (202) 514-1888 WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Department of Justices Antitrust Division issued the following statement today after the Department announced the closing of its antitrust investigation into Arch Wireless Inc.s proposed acquisition of Metrocall Holdings Inc.: The facts did not support a conclusion that this merger will give a combined Arch/Metrocall market power in the markets in which they compete. Purchasers of paging services will likely continue to have a number of other choices after the merger, including other paging carriers. Although this particular transaction should not threaten to harm competition or consumers, we will continue to be vigilant in our enforcement of the antitrust laws in this area.
There has been a substantial decrease in the number of pager units in service over the past five years, declining from more than 45 million units in1999 to under 12 million today. Therefore, the Division focused its investigation on customers that may continue to need to use pagers. None of the theories of competitive harm considered was supported by the facts. The Division found neither likely harm from coordinated interaction nor substantive proof of potential unilateral effects post-merger. The services of other paging carriers and self-provisioning of pager services by customers provide alternatives to the paging services of the merging parties. In addition, new wireless technologies such as wi-fi should continue to broaden the alternatives available to customers of the merging parties. 04-750
Source: US Department of Justice
