The European Commission seeks stakeholders' views on the guidelines for the application of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation ("FSR")....more
3/12/2025
/ Competition ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Subsidies ,
Merger Agreements ,
National Security ,
Public Procurement Policies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements
2024 was a significant year for merger enforcement worldwide. In the United States, the Biden administration continued the aggressive approach reflected in the revamped Merger Guidelines issued in December 2023. In Europe,...more
The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") unanimously issued a final rule expanding the requirements of premerger filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements ("HSR") Act of 1976. The HSR Act requires parties to...more
10/15/2024
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Controls ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Premerger Notifications
The Development: China's Supreme People's Court ("SPC") recently released a Judicial Interpretation of Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Civil Dispute Cases Arising from Monopolistic Conduct...more
7/18/2024
/ Anti-Monopoly ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
China ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Judicial Interpretation ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Risk Assessment
This week, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) voted 3-2 along party lines to finalize a rule that bans noncompete clauses in employment agreements as a per se illegal “unfair method of competition” (“UMC”) under Section 5...more
The Background: The Australian Federal Treasurer recently announced sweeping reforms to Australia's merger review regime. These reforms will overhaul the current merger review regime in Australia to introduce mandatory filing...more
China doubled its merger notification thresholds effective on January 26, 2024.
China's State Council recently published new merger control notification thresholds doubling the previous China revenue thresholds in an...more
A plea deal with a paving contractor follows the Department of Justice Antitrust Division's ("DOJ") threat to resurrect criminal enforcement of the Sherman Act § 2 prohibition on monopolization and attempted monopolization....more
The European Parliament ("EP") and Council formally adopted the Digital Markets Act ("DMA") in July 2022, imposing new behavioral obligations on large digital platforms qualifying as "gatekeepers." The final agreement...more
Overview of the FSR -
The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ("TFEU") prohibits any form of public financial support selectively granted to businesses that distorts competition, absent an exception. The EU's...more
7/13/2022
/ Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Foreign Subsidies ,
Public Procurement Policies ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)
Background -
Recent supply disruptions in the semiconductor industry have highlighted the dependence of many global economies, including the EU, on imported chips manufactured in Asia....more
3/8/2022
/ Business Disruption ,
Competition ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Domestic Industry Requirement ,
Economic Development ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Global Economy ,
Imports ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Infrastructure ,
Innovative Technology ,
Manufacturing Facilities ,
Microchip Technology ,
Public Funds ,
Semiconductors ,
Supply Chain ,
Supply Shortages
Saudi Arabia competition authority blocks its first transaction under the Kingdom's 2019 Competition Law.
The Saudi Arabian General Authority for Competition ("GAC") announced this week that its board had blocked Delivery...more
What Is the FTC's New "Prior Approval" Policy? At the end of an FTC investigation into the competitive impact of a merger, the agency may (i) take no action (allowing the parties to close), (ii) challenge the transaction...more
11/4/2021
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Merger Controls ,
Policy Management ,
Policy Statement ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Approval ,
Regulatory Reform
Expansion of FTC's Interpretation of Its Antitrust Enforcement Authority -The Commission majority has reinvigorated a longstanding but dormant debate about the bounds of the FTC's authority under Section 5 of the FTC Act....more
President Biden recently signed an Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy (the "Order") outlining 72 initiatives by more than a dozen federal agencies to combat "excessive" corporate consolidation...more
The Development: The Bundestag, the German legislature, amended Germany's antitrust laws to include special competition rules for digital platform "companies with overwhelming importance for competition across multiple...more
The Development: The European Commission ("EC") recently released two long-awaited legislative proposals, the Digital Services Act ("DSA") and Digital Markets Act ("DMA"), that would significantly increase the EC's regulatory...more
The Development: The U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") and a divided Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") released the final version of their Vertical Merger Guidelines, the first revision in more than 35 years. The Guidelines...more
7/15/2020
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Defense Strategies ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Diagonal Mergers ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Guidelines ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Supply Chain ,
Vertical Mergers
Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") and Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") issued draft Vertical Merger Guidelines. Vertical mergers combine two or more companies operating at different levels of a supply chain...more
1/24/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Comment Period ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Draft Guidance ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Horizontal Merger Guidelines ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Vertical Mergers