COMPLIANCE INTO THE WEEDS-EPISODE 48-THE HALLIBURTON FCPA ENFORCEMENT ACTION
Highlights from the Oral Argument in Halliburton v. Erica P. John Fund
One takeaway of the Halliburton-Sonangol FCPA enforcement action? Trust but verify....more
In recent years, U.S. and Western European military spending has decreased as military spending in other parts of the world has risen. As a result, aerospace, defense and government services (ADG) companies increasingly rely...more
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is pleased to present its 2016 Antitrust Year in Review. In this report, we summarize the most significant antitrust matters and developments of the past year. We begin with a look at the...more
Obama Administration antitrust enforcers have faced criticism over the last year for not being sufficiently aggressive, allegedly leading to concentrated industries to the detriment of consumers. The Department of Justice and...more
The Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice have continued their aggressive stance against proposed mergers that the antitrust agencies perceive as harmful to competition. So far this year, the FTC obtained a...more
On April 5, 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued an Enforcement and Guidance Plan (Plan) concerning the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). While the new Plan could be interpreted as a novel departure from past...more
This post updates the public deal antitrust reverse termination fee database through June 30, 2016. An antitrust reverse termination fee (ARTF), sometimes called an antitrust reverse breakup fee, is a fee payable by the...more
Where is the line drawn between acquisitions of securities made “solely for the purpose of investment” on one hand, and influencing control, thereby requiring regulatory approval, on the other hand? That is the central...more
The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced this week that an activist investment manager has agreed to pay a record $11 million to settle allegations that it violated the requirements of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust...more
Activist investor ValueAct Capital agreed to pay an $11 million fine and also agreed to injunctive relief to settle the DOJ’s allegations that it violated the HSR Act in connection with its acquisition of over $2.5 billion of...more
Nearly a year-and-a-half after announcing their plans to join forces, Halliburton and Baker Hughes have reportedly called off their $35 billion merger. Serious DOJ reservations about the deal and a wildly changed energy...more
Antitrust practitioners, enforcers and industry professionals came together in Washington, D.C. for the 64th installment of the ABA Section of Antitrust Law's annual Spring Meeting. The Spring Meeting provides a look at the...more
On April 4, 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had filed a civil antitrust complaint against investment fund ValueAct Capital, alleging that ValueAct improperly relied upon the "investment-only"...more
Suit signals potential consequences for activist investors who rely on the HSR “solely for purposes of investment” exemption. On April 4, 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) sued certain ValueAct Capital entities...more
In perhaps an unsurprising move, last week the U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit challenging the merger of Halliburton and Baker Hughes, the first and third largest oilfield services companies in the...more
Enforcement actions for violations of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (HSR) often are announced with substantial money penalties or other restrictions agreed in advance between the agency and the parties. Not so with the Department...more
Nearly a year and a half after the deal was announced, on April 6, 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) challenged Halliburton's proposed $35 billion acquisition of rival oilfield services provider Baker Hughes. The DOJ...more
On April 4, 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against activist investor ValueAct Capital (“ValueAct”). DOJ asserts that ValueAct improperly relied on the “investment only” exemption to...more
The DOJ has moved to block the proposed Halliburton/Baker Hughes merger in a Delaware-based federal lawsuit that argues that “combining the two oil field services companies would cut competition in the industry to...more
FCPA enforcement will likely take a turn into the private equity industry. I know this is a regular claim by FCPA practitioners but we already can see the beginning of the trend. The “princeling” investigations are...more
Oil is hovering around $50 per barrel. For most of the US economy this drop in oil price has provided a much-needed economic boost. One piece on the NPR website, entitled “Oil Price Dip, Global Slowdown Create Crosscurrents...more
For busy in-house counsel and compliance professionals, we have tried to summarize the most important international anti-corruption developments in the past month with links to primary resources. November was definitely a...more
The Department of Justice (“DOJ” or the “Department”) just issued its most recent FCPA Opinion Release, only the second in 2014. The Requestor, a publicly traded U.S. consumer products company, sought an opinion as to whether...more
On November 17, 2014, Halliburton Company (“Halliburton”) announced plans to acquire Baker Hughes, Inc. (“Baker Hughes”) for $34.6 billion. Halliburton and Baker Hughes are two of the world’s largest oilfield services...more
Today I conclude my three-part series on mergers and acquisitions under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) with a review of the post-acquisition phase. Previously many compliance practitioners had based decisions in...more