On January 7, 2025, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced a record USD5.68m civil penalty to settle alleged pre-merger coordination in violation of the HSR Act. This settlement is the largest dollar penalty that has...more
1/15/2025
/ Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Competition ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Oil & Gas ,
Unfair Competition
In the waning days of the current administration, the antitrust agencies continue to cross items off their holiday wish list. Since the presidential election in November, the antitrust agencies have filed a new merger...more
M&A practitioners anticipate a ‘Trump bump’ -
The scale of Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election – and the fact the Republicans now have full control of Congress – has been greeted with optimism by U.S....more
12/20/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Competition ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Foreign Investment ,
Global Dealmaking ,
Global Market ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tariffs ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies
Welcome to the latest edition of M&A Insights, where we bring together partners from across the A&O Shearman network to explore the themes shaping global dealmaking.
The election of Donald Trump as President is expected to...more
12/18/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Banking Sector ,
Buyers ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Competition ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
EU ,
European Central Bank ,
Foreign Investment ,
Global Dealmaking ,
Global Market ,
Immigration ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Listing Standards ,
Machine Learning ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
Private Equity ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sellers ,
Tariffs ,
Technology Sector ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
United States ,
US Trade Policies
In our biannual M&A trends report we explore the possible impact of the new U.S. administration on dealmaking, the dynamics of transatlantic M&A, private equity exits, and Mario Draghi’s proposals to reshape the European...more
12/18/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Banking Sector ,
Buyers ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
EU ,
European Central Bank ,
Foreign Investment ,
Global Dealmaking ,
Global Market ,
Immigration ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Listing Standards ,
Machine Learning ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
Private Equity ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sellers ,
Tariffs ,
Technology Sector ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
United States ,
US Trade Policies
On August 5, 2024, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) filed a rare[1] gun jumping[2] civil lawsuit and proposed settlement in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against Legends...more
8/8/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Settlement ,
Sherman Act
In the nearly three years since President Biden took office, it has become clear that his Administration has sought to develop an “inflection point” for antitrust enforcement. Speeches by new leadership at both the U.S....more
Proposed FTC and DOJ Merger Guidelines Formalize Biden Administration’s Aggressive Vision for Merger Enforcement – Top Ten Takeaways -
When losing, some players seek to change the rules. Others seek to change the playing...more
Last week, the FTC announced two significant moves. First, the FTC brought its first major standalone Section 5 actions, targeting certain companies’ employment noncompete agreements as unfair methods of competition. The very...more
1/10/2023
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proposed Rules ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Unfair Competition
On November 10, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a policy statement (the “Policy Statement”) radically expanding the FTC’s interpretation of prohibited “unfair methods of competition” under Section 5 of the FTC...more
11/18/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Competition ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Mergers ,
Section 5 ,
Unfair Competition ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On Friday, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) released joint draft Vertical Merger Guidelines (“Guidelines”) for public comment. This much anticipated...more
1/14/2020
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Comment Period ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Draft Guidance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Vertical Mergers
Welcome to the 2019 Shearman & Sterling Antitrust Annual Report.
Our seventh edition focuses on the contrasting use by regulators of antitrust laws with respect to the FANGs, and how antitrust is being enforced in the U.S....more
7/24/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Liability ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Digital Media ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FinTech ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Leniency Programs ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
No-Poaching ,
Recruitment Policies ,
State Aid ,
Trump Administration ,
UK Brexit
The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (Division) finally will consider the existence of effective antitrust compliance programs at the charging stage of criminal antitrust investigations, opening up the...more
7/15/2019
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
Cooperation Initiative ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Investigations ,
Libor ,
New Guidance ,
Price-Fixing
On June 12, 2018, following a six-week-long bench trial, Judge Richard J. Leon of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that AT&T’s proposed acquisition of Time Warner does not violate the...more
The EU and U.S. competition authorities have been and remain active in enforcing gun-jumping cases, while in recent years other competition authorities across the world, including in China, have also become increasingly...more
4/12/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
China ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Japan ,
Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) ,
Mergers ,
MOFCOM
Is this perception well-founded? And does it represent a new policy trend towards ‘social justice’ objectives or simply a continuation of a policy driver that has underpinned EU competition enforcement for some time?...more
4/11/2018
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
International Tax Issues ,
Member State ,
Mergers ,
Multinationals ,
R&D ,
State Aid ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices