On September 28, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a blog post announcing several changes to how the FTC will investigate mergers and acquisitions and how it will approach second-request negotiations. The blog...more
Chair Khan’s Priorities -
In a memo dated September 22, 2021, the Chair of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), Lina Khan, described for the FTC Staff and fellow Commissioners what she described as her “vision and...more
On September 15, 2021, by a 3-2 vote, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) decided to withdraw the vertical merger guidelines that had been issued in 2020. In its statement supporting the withdrawal, the majority raised...more
Prior to 1995, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) required parties to a Commission Order entered in a merger case to obtain the FTC’s prior approval for any future transaction in similar markets above a de minimis...more
On June 15, 2021, in a 69–28 vote, the Senate confirmed Lina Khan to fill the current vacancy at the Commissioner level of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”). Immediately upon her confirmation, President Biden tapped Ms....more
On May 19, 2021, the Senate Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights of the Committee of the Judiciary held a hearing on Antitrust Applied: Hospital Consolidation Concerns and Solutions. The...more
The Multilateral Pharmaceutical Merger Task Force, a working group formed by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, State Attorneys General, and counterpart enforcement...more
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced new reporting thresholds for the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (“Act”). The new thresholds became effective on March 4, 2021. Unlike previous years, this...more
Section 7 of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. § 18) prohibits mergers and acquisitions where “the effect may be substantially to lessen competition, or tend to create a monopoly.” Although drafted in part to address potential...more
Joseph Simons, Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) since May 1, 2018, has announced that he would resign effective January 29, 2021. Following Chairman Simons out of the FTC are, among others, Bureau of...more
In a June 18, 2020, letter to the heads of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, several U.S. Senators expressed their views that the draft vertical merger guidelines...more
In April 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) released its annual report for 2019. The FTC’s annual report details the FTC’s actions over the prior year. In 2019, similar to other years, the health care industry...more
One of the more difficult questions faced by a dominant firm is whether to do business with a rival. The general rule, premised on the principle that true competition affords everyone the ability to make decisions about whom...more
On April 30, 2020, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued a press release announcing a deferred prosecution agreement with a major oncology practice in Florida. As a condition of the deferred...more
As organizations are working to respond to the 2019 novel coronavirus (known as “COVID-19”), the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued a reminder that emergency efforts do not negate the requirement to adhere to the...more
3/13/2020
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bid Rigging ,
Competition ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Emergency Response ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Preventive Health Care ,
Price-Fixing ,
Public Health
Adjustments to the reporting thresholds under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (“Act”) will become effective on February 27, 2020. At that time, the minimum size-of-transaction threshold goes up to $94...more
The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (collectively, “Agencies”) recently released for public comment their much-anticipated draft Vertical Merger Guidelines (“Guidelines”) that purport to “outline...more
1/30/2020
/ 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
How a transaction gets structured raises a multitude of issues, including whether the transaction might be reportable under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (“HSR”). Structuring a transaction for the purpose...more
When submitting a Hart-Scott-Rodino (“HSR”) Premerger Notification and Report Form and documentary attachments, parties are required to include what are known as “4(c) documents” and “4(d) documents.” Under the HSR...more
Until recently, state and federal enforcers shared a common outlook in their approach and goals for antitrust enforcement. Most state antitrust laws mirror federal laws, and a consistent approach to antitrust enforcement has...more
On May 31, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) posted the agenda for its final hearing in the “Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century” series. The hearing will take place on June 12, 2019. The FTC has...more
On March 11, 2019, the Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC’s”) Bureau of Competition and the Assistant Director of the Bureau’s Compliance Division coauthored a blog post to announce the revision of “standard...more
Parties involved in health care transactions subject to the reporting requirements of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (“HSR” or “Act”) frequently ask whether submission of the HSR Notification and Report...more
2/28/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Confidential Information ,
Contractual Safeguards ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FOIA ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Information Sharing ,
Mergers ,
Public Disclosure ,
Sensitive Business Information
The Statements of Antitrust Enforcement Policy in Health Care (“Policy Statements”), issued jointly by the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission, provide, at Statement 3, guidelines for evaluating whether a joint...more
Given the importance of population health management, providers (whether as part of a value-based arrangement or otherwise) share clinical information to help develop best practices and quality initiatives. Current guidance...more