Justice Department Clears DigitalGlobe-GeoEye Merger

The antitrust section of the Justice Department gave its approval today for the merger of DigitalGlobe and GeoEye.  The two commercial satellite imagery companies had announced their plans in July 2012 after the government made clear that it would sharply reduce its support of GeoEye.

With the merger, the United States has only one commercial satellite imagery company, down from the original three.  The survivor, DigitalGlobe, will have a U.S. monopoly, prompting the antitrust review.   Although there will be only one U.S. company, several foreign competitors offer similar products.

DigitalGlobe cautions that the merger still needs approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), but expects the merger to close by the end of this month.