Antitrust experts from across the globe convened in Washington, D.C. on April 2–4, 2025 to discuss new enforcement policies and share updates on current issues in antitrust. We provide the key highlights from numerous panels...more
4/9/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Biden Administration ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Mergers ,
No-Poaching ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Tariffs ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration
On January 10, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) published new, higher notification thresholds under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (the “HSR Act”). The HSR Act requires the FTC to adjust...more
1/16/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Mergers ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Size of Persons Test ,
Size of Transaction Test ,
Threshold Requirements
Global M&A in 2024 faced geopolitical issues, elevated interest rates, and inflationary pressures, with expanding antitrust, foreign investment, national security, and export regimes adding complexity. But inflation receded...more
1/10/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Big Tech ,
CFIUS ,
Competition ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Emerging Technologies ,
EU ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Foreign Investment ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
IRS ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Outbound Transactions ,
Private Equity ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Stakeholder Engagement ,
Technology
On October 24, 2024, Judge Rochon of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) motion for a preliminary injunction to prevent Tapestry, Inc. (“Tapestry”) from...more
On October 10, 2024, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) voted 5-0 to adopt new Hart-Scott-Rodino (“HSR”) rules, which will substantially expand filing requirements for parties when the new rules go into effect. The...more
10/14/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Best Practices ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Fast Track Process ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Requirements ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Lead Supervisory Authority ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Suppliers
The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (collectively, the “Agencies”) released for public comment draft Merger Guidelines that outline how the agencies evaluate proposed deals. The Agencies have...more
7/28/2023
/ Antitrust Division ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Draft Guidance ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Foreclosure ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Horizontal Merger Guidelines ,
Market Manipulation ,
Market-Sharing ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Minority Shareholders ,
Vertical Mergers
On June 27, 2023, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), with the collaboration and concurrence of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”), announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the “Notice”)...more
Antitrust practitioners from around the world gathered in Washington, D.C. the week of March 27, 2023, for a series of industry meetings, centered around the American Bar Association Antitrust Law Section’s 71st Annual Spring...more
4/11/2023
/ Algorithms ,
Anti-Monopoly ,
Antitrust Division ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Cartels ,
Collusion ,
Competition ,
Consent Decrees ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Mergers ,
Price-Fixing ,
Robinson-Patman Act ,
Sherman Act ,
Wage-Fixing
Following a year of unprecedented M&A deal activity, 2022 saw the global M&A market settle back into a more familiar pace. The year finished 38.8% lower than 2021’s record level, but only 9.3% lower than 2015-2019 averages,...more
1/23/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
CFIUS ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Markets Strategy ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Excise Tax ,
Export Controls ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Foreign Investment ,
Mergers ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
National Security ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Popular ,
Private Equity ,
REIT ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Technology ,
UK
Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 (the “Act”) on December 22, 2022, and President Biden signed it into law on December 29, 2022. The Act significantly amends the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (the “HSR Act”)...more
1/11/2023
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Blocked Person ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Foreign Entities ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
SDN List ,
State Attorneys General
The Biden Administration intends to reshape merger enforcement as part of its broader initiative to change U.S. antitrust law. In keeping with the Administration’s goals, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department...more
9/16/2022
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Comment Period ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Mergers ,
New Guidance ,
Request For Information ,
State Attorneys General ,
Vertical Mergers
2021 M&A smashed U.S. and global records. The year saw the arrival of a new U.S. administration, the release of COVID-19 vaccines, as well as continued questions regarding the impact of the pandemic, including the year-end...more
1/21/2022
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
CFIUS ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Digital Services ,
EU ,
Excise Tax ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Global Market ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
NYSE ,
PIPEs ,
Popular ,
Private Equity ,
REIT ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
UK ,
Universal Proxy Cards ,
Vertical Mergers
On January 18, 2022, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) held a joint press conference to announce the launch of a broad‑ranging public inquiry aimed at...more
On October 25, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) adopted a new policy requiring merging parties that enter into settlements to resolve competition concerns to give the FTC veto power over future deals in...more
Are the stars aligning for antitrust reform? President Biden is filling key positions in the White House (Timothy Wu, National Economic Council) and reportedly at the FTC (Lina Khan, commissioner) with lawyers who have...more