SAN FRANCISCO — To hear the Department of Justice tell it, antitrust lawyers arrived on the scene too late to save Bazaarvoice executives from themselves.
In a trial over the fate of a relatively small software merger, the DOJ has made heavy use of internal documents in which executives of Austin-based Bazaarvoice cheered that they would be able to hike up prices after acquiring their company’s primary business rival. Antitrust lawyers generally urge clients not to say anything to suggest that a deal will dampen competition, but Bazaarvoice didn’t get the message, DOJ lawyer Peter Huston suggested during his closing argument Tuesday.
