JANUARY – MARCH 2025: KEY THEMES AND TAKEAWAYS -
UNITED STATES -
FTC Loses Vertical Challenge to Tempur Sealy/Mattress Firm
On July 2, 2024, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed suit in federal court seeking to block...more
5/6/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Big Tech ,
Competition ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Foreign Subsidies ,
Merger Controls ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Vertical Mergers
IN THIS JANUARY 2025 ISSUE -
In the fourth quarter of 2024, US antitrust regulators continued their rigorous scrutiny of mergers and acquisitions. The US Department of Justice (DOJ), under the leadership of the outgoing...more
On January 10, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released increased jurisdictional thresholds, filing fee thresholds, and filing fee amounts for merger notifications made pursuant to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust...more
1/14/2025
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Collaboration ,
Competition ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Joint Venture ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Threshold Requirements
The US antitrust regulators continued to aggressively challenge transactions and associated Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) violations during the third quarter of 2024. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) litigated two merger...more
11/1/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Competition Authorities ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
EUMR ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Requirements ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
United States
On October 10, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted 5-0 to issue new final rules (Rules) governing the US premerger notification filing process. These Rules – the first major overhaul to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR)...more
UNITED STATES -
- Agencies Revisiting Consummated Mergers -
What’s old is new again, as agencies are increasingly scrutinizing consummated mergers from years past. In May 2024, the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Antitrust...more
7/29/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Competition ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Energy Sector ,
EU ,
EUMR ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Mergers ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
Request For Information ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
On June 5, 2024, the US District Court for the Western District of North Carolina denied the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) petition to enjoin Novant Health Inc.’s (Novant) acquisition of Community Health Systems Inc.’s...more
UNITED STATES -
New Merger Guidelines Deployed -
The 2023 Merger Guidelines are a non-binding statement that provides clarity on aspects of federal agencies’ deliberations and enforcement practices undertaken in...more
5/3/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Emerging Technologies ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Foreign Investment ,
Healthcare ,
Horizontal Merger Guidelines ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
UK ,
Vertical Mergers
The American Bar Association Antitrust Law Section’s annual Spring Meeting concluded on April 12. The annual Spring Meeting featured updates from federal, state and international antitrust enforcers and extensive discussion...more
4/15/2024
/ American Bar Association (ABA) ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
FDIC ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
No-Poaching ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Robinson-Patman Act ,
Settlement ,
Sherman Act ,
The Clayton Act
On January 22, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced increased jurisdictional thresholds, increased filing fee thresholds and filing fee amounts for merger notifications made pursuant to the Hart-Scott-Rodino...more
APRIL – JUNE 2023: KEY THEMES AND TAKEAWAYS -
UNITED STATES -
• Federal Trade Commission Unveils Proposal Detailing Significant Changes to Hart-Scott-Rodino Act Merger Notifications On June 27, 2023, the Federal Trade...more
7/31/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
FCC ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Premerger Notifications
In the first half of 2023, antitrust enforcers remained remarkably busy both in the United States (US) and across the European Union (EU). The US Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) Antitrust Division (Division) and the Federal...more
The American Bar Association’s Antitrust Law Section held its annual Spring Meeting in Washington, DC, on March 29–31, 2023. The Spring Meeting sessions featured updates from federal, state, and international antitrust...more
4/6/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
American Bar Association (ABA) ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
CFIUS ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Healthcare ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Section 8 ,
The Clayton Act
The American Bar Association’s Antitrust Law Section recently held its annual Spring Meeting in Washington, DC, featuring updates from federal, state, and international antitrust enforcers and in-depth commentary on leading...more
4/4/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
American Bar Association (ABA) ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Community to Purchase Act (COPA) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Healthcare ,
Hospitals ,
Joe Biden ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Robinson-Patman Act ,
Sherman Act ,
Spoliation
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on January 23, 2023, the implementation of increased thresholds for merger notifications under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR Act) as well as...more
1/25/2023
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Mergers ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Size of Persons Test ,
Size of Transaction Test ,
Threshold Requirements
Congress has passed—and President Biden is expected to sign into law today—the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act, which will significantly change antitrust merger notification regulations under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act...more
UNIQUE GUN-JUMPING CASE SANCTIONED BY FRENCH COMPETITION AUTHORITY -
A new European gun-jumping decision, following the European Court of Justice 2022 Marine Harvest judgment, sends a very strong message to companies that...more
9/21/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Advertising ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dot Com Disclosure Guide ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
French Competition Authority ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Marketing ,
Mergers ,
Price-Fixing
US antitrust enforcers have signaled that private equity firms are the prime targets for upcoming aggressive antitrust merger enforcement. In a recent interview, US Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter stated that the...more
On April 7 and 8, 2022, the American Bar Association’s Antitrust Law Section wrapped up its annual Spring Meeting. The event featured updates and remarks from several antitrust enforcers, including FTC Chair Lina Khan and US...more
4/12/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
American Bar Association (ABA) ,
Antitrust Division ,
Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
FTCA Section 13(b) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements
In remarks delivered on January 18, 2022, and January 24, 2022, Jonathan Kanter, the Assistant Attorney General (AAG) for the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division, laid out the areas where he perceives...more
3/15/2022
/ Antitrust Division ,
Bid Rigging ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Joe Biden ,
Mergers ,
Monopolization ,
Procurement Collusion Strike Force ,
Sherman Act ,
The Clayton Act
APRIL – JUNE 2021: HIGHLIGHTS -
UNITED STATES -
- The premerger notification landscape continues to shift as filings reach another record high, and the US Congress contemplates increases to filing fees and New York...more
8/6/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Biden Administration ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Emerging Technology Companies ,
Enforcement ,
EU ,
EUMR ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Proposed Regulation ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ordered the transfer of a case asserting standalone Walker Process antitrust claims involving an unenforceable patent to the regional circuit, in this case the US Court of...more
On June 6, 2021, the US Senate passed the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2021. The bill is co-sponsored by Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the Chairwoman of the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and...more
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a joint statement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) on February 4, 2021, signaling comprehensive changes to the merger review process. In a significant development, the...more
2/10/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
E-Filing ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Funding ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Reviews ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Termination ,
The Clayton Act