Statement of Commissioner Mozelle W. Thompson

Warner Communications Inc.

File No. 001-0231

As I said in my statement⁽¹⁾ following the issuance of The Antitrust Guidelines for Collaborations Among Competitors,⁽²⁾ I believe that joint ventures can enable companies to expand into foreign markets, fund expensive innovation and research efforts, and lower costs to the benefit of industry and consumers alike. But an otherwise legitimate joint venture may not shield price fixing or any other form of anticompetitive restraint if the restraint is not both reasonably related to the venture and reasonably necessary to achieve the venture's procompetitive objectives. The Commission's complaint against Warner Communications and the accompanying consent order that we accepted for public comment today underscore this important principle of joint venture law.

1. <<http://www.ftc.gov/os/2000/04/antitrustguidethompson.htm>>

2. The Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice issued the Guidelines in April 2000. <<http://www.ftc.gov/bc/guidelin.htm>>