As we look back on 2024, one thing is clear: Antitrust enforcement in the technology sector continued at a steady pace, with global agencies showing no signs of relenting in their scrutiny of Big Tech companies....more
3/17/2025
/ Amazon ,
Antitrust Division ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Big Tech ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Technology Sector ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
The last year (and particularly the last few months) of the Biden Administration brought a flurry of activity from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the life sciences space, continuing a yearslong pattern of close...more
2/21/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Life Sciences ,
Mergers ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Popular ,
Sherman Act ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
On Friday, January 10th, 2025, the US Chamber of Commerce, American Investment Council, Business Roundtable, and Longview Chamber of Commerce (collectively the “Plaintiffs”) filed a joint lawsuit challenging the FTC’s and...more
Following a nine-week bench trial starting in September 2023 and closing arguments in May 2024, District of Columbia district court judge Amit Mehta ruled on August 5, 2024, that Google illegally maintained its monopoly in...more
8/15/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Amazon ,
Anticompetitive Agreements ,
Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Big Tech ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Google ,
Instagram ,
Mergers ,
Monopolization ,
Search Engines ,
Selective Distribution Agreements ,
Sherman Act ,
Web Browsers ,
WhatsApp
The FTC’s enforcement efforts against private equity hit a significant roadblock on May 13 when a federal judge granted Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe’s (Welsh Carson) motion to dismiss the agency’s complaint against the...more
Antitrust actions significantly impacted the technology sector in 2023 and are poised to have substantial repercussions in the future, affecting both major tech companies and emerging enterprises. In addition to a focus on...more
2023 saw a significant uptick in antitrust scrutiny and enforcement, particularly in the healthcare space. After much rhetoric and a setback in challenging state Certificate of Public Advantage (COPA) laws, the Federal Trade...more
3/12/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Hospitals ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Firms
Despite increasingly aggressive rhetoric from the agencies, 2022 was largely characterized as “business as usual” in the antitrust world. In contrast, 2023 featured a significant step up in enforcement activity, including...more
2/23/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Amgen ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Bristol-Myers Squibb ,
Clinical Trials ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
IP License ,
Life Sciences ,
Monopolization ,
Pfizer ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Sanofi
On September 26, 2023, the FTC and 17 state attorneys general filed a long-anticipated antitrust complaint against Amazon. The complaint alleges that Amazon wields monopoly power in what the plaintiffs define as the online...more
On December 18, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) (each an Agency, and collectively, the Agencies) released the final version of revised Merger Guidelines...more
On August 16, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced an agreement with natural gas producer EQT Corporation (EQT) and private equity firm Quantum Energy Partners (Quantum) to resolve concerns stemming from alleged...more
8/28/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Board of Directors ,
Competition ,
Consent Decrees ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Popular ,
Safe Harbors ,
Section 5 ,
Section 8 ,
Statutory Authority ,
The Clayton Act
Antitrust enforcers remained active across the globe, with the announcement by the FTC and DOJ of proposed guidelines that have an emphasis on tech mergers in the United States, and several investigations of major tech deals...more
8/25/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Adobe ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Broadcom ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Draft Guidance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Mergers ,
Microsoft ,
Online Platforms ,
Popular ,
Proposed Guidance ,
Public Comment ,
Technology Sector ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Vertical Mergers
Agencies drastically revise Merger Guidelines and HSR process while withdrawing long-established antitrust healthcare guidance -
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ,...more
8/14/2023
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Horizontal Merger Guidelines ,
Hospital Mergers ,
Hospitals ,
Popular
The second quarter saw significant enforcement and dealmaking in the life sciences space. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its attempt to block Amgen/Horizon, the first such challenge to a life science transaction...more
On July 19, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) (each an Agency, and collectively, the Agencies) released a long-awaited draft version of revised Merger...more
7/21/2023
/ Antitrust Division ,
Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Guidance Update ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Vertical Mergers
The start of 2023 has been a busy one, with global antitrust agencies advancing investigations and challenging a number of technology acquisitions. Future antitrust enforcement could also be shaped by new digital market...more
6/15/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Adobe ,
Antitrust Division ,
Broadcom ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Divestiture ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Microsoft ,
Popular ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Remedies ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
Department of Justice Withdraws Long-Standing Antitrust Healthcare Policy Statements -
On February 2, 2023, the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the withdrawal of its support for three...more
5/24/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Amazon ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Appeals ,
Certificates of Public Advantage (COPAs) ,
Competition ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Practice of Medicine ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Health Care Providers ,
No-Poaching ,
Policy Statement ,
Popular ,
Wage-Fixing
2022 saw a major uptick in antitrust scrutiny and enforcement, primarily related to vertical transactions by large technology companies. Meta/Within, Microsoft/Activision, and Broadcom/VMware (among others) faced resistance...more
2/22/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Broadcom ,
Competition ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Mergers ,
Microsoft ,
Popular ,
Technology ,
Technology Sector ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
Two major technology companies, Meta and Microsoft, continue to defend their acquisitions against challenges from antitrust regulators. The FTC dropped one of the two claims underlying its challenge of Meta’s acquisition of...more
11/10/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Mergers ,
Microsoft ,
Mobile Apps ,
Popular ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
The third quarter in the life sciences space showed that business is generally proceeding as usual, with large pharma players successfully acquiring or licensing in clinical stage assets without running into antitrust delays....more
11/10/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Bristol-Myers Squibb ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
GlaxoSmithKline ,
Health Technology ,
Life Sciences ,
Mergers ,
Metadata ,
Mobile Apps ,
Pfizer ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Virtual Reality
Although the second quarter did not feature any life sciences enforcement action by the FTC, there was plenty of news in and around the space. The FTC held a detailed “virtual workshop” as part of its pharmaceutical...more
On June 13, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “the Commission”) announced a consent agreement resolving concerns with a private equity acquisition, incorporating novel prior notice and approval requirements...more
6/17/2022
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Competition ,
Consent Order ,
Divestiture ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Notice Requirements ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Firms ,
Veterinarians
On July 9, 2021, President Joe Biden announced a broad executive order (the “Order”) intended to boost what it characterizes as stagnant competition across the U.S. economy. The Order, among other things, encourages the...more
7/15/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Biosimilars ,
Competition ,
Data Collection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Emerging Technology Companies ,
Employee Benefits ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Generic Drugs ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Hospitals ,
Joint Statements ,
Licensing Rules ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Online Marketplace ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Surveillance ,
Technology Sector ,
Unfair Competition ,
Vertical Mergers ,
Wage and Hour