11.   A vote on whether to block the merger was tentatively scheduled for last Saturday, but was postponed to permit further talks.

12.   After the FTC said it would sue to block the merger, Rite Aid dropped its bid.

13.   Building a stake in GrandMet could make even less sense if probes by U.S. and European antitrust authorities block the merger, investors said.

14.   But a day after a federal judge blocked a merger of the two office superstores, Staples, of Westborough, Mass., saw its stock rise.

15.   But a judge in Delaware Monday allowed dissident HP board member Walter Hewlett to proceed with a lawsuit seeking to block the merger.

16.   But last week, the Justice Department moved to block the merger of the Sprint-WorldCom merger.

17.   But one antitrust expert said it would be tough for the state to go into court alone in an attempt to block a merger that has won federal approval.

18.   But several of the Bell companies said they would still try to block the merger.

19.   But state attorneys general do have the power to block mergers by filing lawsuits grounded in both state and federal antitrust laws.

20.   But the FTC would hard pressed to persuade a court to block the merger.