The number of U.S. states implementing or considering new antitrust laws (or supplementing existing laws) targeting proposed transactions continues to grow. As detailed in our healthcare merger matrix, many states have...more
State legislatures on the West Coast are intensifying their focus on private equity and management service organizations (MSOs) in healthcare, introducing new regulatory measures that could significantly reshape investment...more
The outlook for federal antitrust enforcement remains murky, at best, with uncertainty about whether the new federal HSR rules, merger guidelines, and existing enforcement actions. The forecast for state antitrust...more
2/11/2025
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Healthcare ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Private Equity ,
State and Local Government ,
State Attorneys General
President Trump was sworn into office on Monday, promising swift action on several fronts. There is already a new Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) Chair, Andrew Ferguson, with former FTC Chair Lina Khan expected to step down...more
1/23/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Healthcare ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Private Equity
1. Higher Jurisdictional Thresholds For HSR Filings -
On January 10, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission announced revised, higher thresholds for premerger filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of...more
What antitrust enforcement will look like during a second Trump administration is, like antitrust law, complicated. Notions that Republicans are pro-business and therefore will take a laissez-faire approach to antitrust...more
12/6/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Cartels ,
Criminal Justice Reform ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Machine Learning ,
Merger Reviews ,
Presidential Elections ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trump Administration
The wait is over!
On October 10th, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) unanimously approved the first significant revisions to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act premerger notification regime since its inception over 40...more
Leading up to the U.S. presidential election this November, our Antitrust & Competition team continues to offer insights into what antitrust enforcement may look like under the next presidential administration. In our last...more
Leading up to the U.S. presidential election this November, our Antitrust & Competition team continues to offer insights into what antitrust enforcement may look like under the next presidential administration. As we look...more
9/11/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Biden Administration ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Presidential Elections
Leading up to the U.S. presidential election this November, our Antitrust & Competition team will offer thoughts and insights into what antitrust enforcement will look like under the next presidential administration. While...more
9/4/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Competition ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Government Agencies ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Healthcare ,
Kamala Harris ,
Presidential Elections ,
Private Equity ,
Trump Administration
On August 28th, the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (the “DOJ”) (the “Antitrust Agencies”), together with the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) and National Labor Relations...more
8/30/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Government Agencies ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
NLRB
On July 3, 2024, Judge Ada Brown of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas entered a limited, preliminary injunction barring the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) from enforcing its controversial Final Rule...more
8/22/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Lack of Authority ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Set-Asides ,
Statutory Authority ,
Texas
On July 3, District Judge Ada Brown of the Northern District of Texas issued an order enjoining the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) from enforcing its “Final Rule” against plaintiffs Ryan, LLC (“Ryan”) and the U.S. Chamber...more
7/8/2024
/ Appeals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Texas
On June 6, 2024, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced that he led a multistate coalition of eleven (11) state attorneys general in in submitting a comment letter (the “Comment Letter”) in response to the Federal...more
The health care industry has been a particular focus of antitrust concern in recent years, including recent policy initiatives, private equity warnings, and enforcement actions from both the Department of Justice (DOJ) and...more
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued its Final Rule banning employers from imposing post-employment noncompete requirements on their workers (the “Final Rule”). The FTC has indicated that it will...more
5/1/2024
/ Competition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Tax Exempt Entities
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) voted 3-2 to issue its final rule (“Final Rule”) banning employers from imposing noncompete clauses on their workers, approving the final rule in a special Open...more
4/25/2024
/ Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Exemptions ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proposed Rules ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Unfair Competition
Parties involved in or considering health care transactions in California have been focused on navigating the new rules set by California’s Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA), and newly proposed legislation could...more
4/19/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
California ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Hedge Funds ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Rules ,
Prior Written Authorization ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Firms ,
Private Equity Funds ,
State Attorneys General
On March 5, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“the FTC”) hosted a public workshop titled “Private Capital, Public Impact: An FTC Workshop on Private Equity in Health Care”, which covered the impact of private equity...more
On December 18, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice (the “Agencies”) jointly issued Final Merger Guidelines, following a public comment period on the Proposed Merger Guidelines first issued in July....more
12/21/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Horizontal Merger Guidelines ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Vertical Mergers
Last week the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a press release highlighting recent and forthcoming actions by the FTC, Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which they say...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced last week the advent of a new safe harbor for companies that discover wrongdoing by the acquired business in the course of an M&A transaction. Buyers hoping to take advantage of this...more
On June 27, 2023, the FTC and DOJ (together the “Agencies”) announced a notice of proposed rulemaking (“NPRM”) proposing extensive revisions to both the rules that implement the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act...more
On September 21, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (WCAS) and U.S. Anesthesia Partners, Inc. (USAP), in the Southern District of Texas, alleging the two companies “[e]xecuted a...more
9/27/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Healthcare ,
Investment ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Firms ,
Texas
As generative AI becomes an increasingly integral part of the modern economy, antitrust and consumer protection agencies continue to raise concerns about the technology’s potential to promote unfair methods of competition....more