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Antitrust focus on private equity funds and serial acquisitions

Until relatively recently, private equity buyers were viewed as largely benign. Where antitrust regulators expressed concerns with private equity buyers, it was generally in the context of them being viewed as sub-optimal...more

EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation increases M&A risk

The EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) took effect in July 2023. It aims to regulate subsidies granted by non-EU countries to ensure that they do not distort competition in the EU internal market. For dealmakers, it is...more

Review of below-threshold mergers creates uncertainty

Antitrust authorities continue to use powers to review deals that fall below merger control filing thresholds. For merging parties this means uncertainty. It is crucial that the possibility of review – including a...more

Antitrust scrutiny of private equity deals intensifies

Traditionally, private equity firms were seen as benign investors from an antitrust perspective. This is changing. In the past 12 months, PE-funded acquisitions have faced progressively more rigorous scrutiny by antitrust...more

Global trends in merger control enforcement - 2024

Global deal value and volume fell again in 2023, down 33% and 18% respectively compared to 2022. This is unsurprising, given persistently tough macroeconomic conditions and geopolitical tensions. Dealmakers are also facing an...more

FTC announces increase in HSR filing thresholds and increase to HSR premerger filing fees

The FTC revises the jurisdictional and filing fee thresholds annually based on the change in gross national product. The FTC also revises filing fees annually based on changes to the consumer price index under Division GG of...more

Overview of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2022

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) (collectively, the Agencies) recently issued the Hart-Scott-Rodino Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2022 (the Report). Covering the...more

New York state non-competes ban vetoed by governor

On December 22, 2023, the governor of New York State vetoed a state bill that sought to ban non-compete agreements for employees and other service providers. The bill was passed by the New York State Legislature on June...more

U.S. Government Shutdown: Implications for Antitrust and CFIUS Filings

The U.S. federal government is facing a possible shutdown beginning this Sunday, October 1, 2023. Congress has until September 30, which marks the end of the fiscal year, to enact appropriations for government agencies and...more

FTC sues PE fund and its portfolio company, signaling continued and growing focus on PE funds and roll-up acquisitions

On September 21, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a groundbreaking complaint in federal court against PE fund Welsh Carson and its portfolio company, U.S. Anesthesia Partners (USAP), making good on its promise...more

New merger guidelines greatly rewrite the framework for reviewing M&A transactions

On July 19, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice Antitrust Division announced sweeping changes to how they review deals. The agencies published new “Merger Guidelines” that identify the competition...more

Global M&A Insights - Innovation thrives amid challenging conditions

As we look ahead to the second half of 2023, the outlook for M&A remains complex. In the six months to the end of June, global deal value stood at USD1.2 trillion, around one-third of last year’s annual total. ...more

Harbinger of cases to come: Axon decision sets the stage for future constitutional challenges to administrative proceedings

Key Points - The U.S. Supreme Court held that litigants can bring constitutional challenges in federal district court against the FTC and SEC without fully exhausting administrative proceedings....more

Evolving foreign direct investment regimes add yet more hurdles for M&A

Navigating the international foreign direct investment (FDI) landscape is becoming ever more complex. In 2022 we saw a proliferation of new FDI regimes, a stream of revisions to existing rules and unprecedented levels of...more

Gun-jumping and breaching merger remedies generate heavy sanctions

Antitrust authorities continued their aggressive campaign against procedural merger control infringements in 2022. A total of EUR113.8m fines were imposed in 70 decisions across the jurisdictions surveyed....more

Global trends in merger control enforcement (UPDATED)

We have collected and analysed data on merger control activity for 2022 from 26 jurisdictions. We give you the key trends and developments from the past year, focusing in particular on the EU, UK, U.S. and China. ...more

U.S. Federal Trade Commission Proposes Ban on Employee Non-Compete Agreements

The proposed rule would prohibit employers nationwide from restricting an employee from working at another company post-employment. As drafted, the rule would have retroactive effect and require employers to rescind any...more

U.S. Antitrust Changes Signed Into Law

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 includes significant changes affecting large M&A transactions and deals involving certain foreign entities. The Act would also give state attorneys general additional control over...more

European financial sponsors seek value through complexity

Europe’s exposure to the war in Ukraine has hit its syndicated debt markets hard. The flow of funds will return – but in the meantime sponsors are pursuing ever-more complex deals to create value....more

12/9/2022  /  Acquisitions , EU , Mergers , Private Equity

FTC targets unfair methods of competition in policy statement

Policy change expands the Agency’s oversight under Section 5 of the FTC Act and abandons the application of the “Rule of Reason.”...more

U.S. criminal antitrust enforcement priorities take shape through inter-agency and global coordination

The DOJ Antitrust Division is amplifying the Biden Administration’s whole-of-government approach to antitrust enforcement by seeking cooperation from enforcers outside the U.S....more

HSR filing thresholds increase – size-of-transaction threshold to be USD101.0 million

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced increases to the notification thresholds under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Antitrust Improvements Act, which requires pre-merger notification of certain transactions to the FTC...more

Overview of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2020

Pandemic-induced lull in M&A activity drove down the number of reportable transactions by 21.6% in FY2020, though preliminary monthly figures for FY2021 have quickly climbed and surpassed pre-pandemic levels. ...more

President Biden directs U.S. Federal Trade Commission to investigate oil and gas markets

On Wednesday, in a letter to U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan, U.S. President Joe Biden urged the FTC to investigate potential anticompetitive conduct in the oil and gas industry....more

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