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
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
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)
IN THIS FEBRUARY 2024 ISSUE -
UNITED STATES -
New Merger Guidelines Released -
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and US Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) issued their updated Merger Guidelines on...more
2/14/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
EUMR ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Mergers ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) ,
Vertical Mergers
UNITED STATES -
Proposed Merger Guidelines Outline Fundamental Change of Approach to Merger Investigation and Enforcement -
On July 19, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the US Department of Justice (DOJ)...more
10/27/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Competition ,
Enforcement ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Investigations ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
New Guidance ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
Mergers and acquisitions will continue to face strong headwinds at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) under new proposed Merger Guidelines released on July 19, 2023.
The Proposed...more
7/25/2023
/ Antitrust Division ,
Biden Administration ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
Proposed Guidance ,
Supply Chain ,
Vertical Mergers
The Federal Trade Commission and the US Department of Justice Antitrust Division have released their revised Merger Guidelines. Which industries will be most affected? What should companies be doing now to avoid regulatory...more
JANUARY – MARCH 2022: HIGHLIGHTS -
UNITED STATES -
• The US antitrust agencies continue with their aggressive merger enforcement posture. The agencies challenged four transactions this quarter, including multiple...more
5/6/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Investigations ,
Merger Controls ,
Merger Remedies ,
Mergers ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
OCTOBER – DECEMBER 2021:
HIGHLIGHTS UNITED STATES -
• Both antitrust agencies have now filled senior leadership positions, although the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) awaits the appointment of a fifth commissioner....more
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)
With COVID-19-related closures rolling in daily, you may have questions about the operating status of the federal government’s antitrust enforcement agencies. Currently, the HSR review process does not seem to be...more
Yesterday, September 24, 2018, Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim announced a series of reforms with the express goal to resolve most merger investigations within six months of filing. The reforms seek to place the...more
On July 26, 2018, Qualcomm announced the termination of the acquisition of NXP following its inability to obtain antitrust clearance from China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) prior to the transaction’s...more
United States: January – March 2018 Update -
One year into the Trump administration, the US antitrust agencies are finally starting to implement their enforcement policies. Most notably, trial began in the US Department of...more
At the one year anniversary of the Trump administration, antitrust merger enforcement remains similar to the Obama administration, but it is still early to judge given the delays in antitrust appointments and given the DOJ’s...more