While they have long taken a back seat to federal merger reviews, US states are becoming increasingly involved in merger reviews, including potentially requiring premerger notifications on a broad scale. On July 24, 2024, the...more
8/9/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Healthcare ,
Joint Venture ,
Mergers ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State Attorneys General
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
WHAT HAPPENED -
• Seven directors resigned from corporate boards following promises of enforcement of Clayton Act Section 8 (15 U.S.C. § 19) by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Antitrust Division (the Division), the...more
10/24/2022
/ Administrative Resignation ,
Antitrust Division ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Private Equity ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Section 8 ,
The Clayton Act
APRIL – JUNE 2022: KEY THEMES AND TAKEAWAYS -
UNITED STATES -
• An Overview of Agency Merger Challenges from January 2021 through June 2022 Parties continue to be cautious in litigating challenged transactions. Since...more
9/26/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Foreign Subsidies ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Healthcare ,
Investment ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Private Equity ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
WHAT HAPPENED -
During a conference last week, Ryan Danks, Director of Civil Enforcement at the US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (DOJ), suggested that merging parties—not the antitrust enforcement...more
OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2020 UPDATE -
UNITED STATES -
Despite initial obstacles because of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 rounded out to be the busiest year for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) enforcement in the United States...more
2/8/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Markets Strategy ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Investigations ,
Mergers ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Proposed Rules ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
JULY - SEPTEMBER 2020 UPDATE -
UNITED STATES-
Mergers and acquisitions in the United States appear to be bouncing back after a muted start to the year due to COVID-19. Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) filings in Q3 2020 were up...more
10/26/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Competition Authorities ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
EU Merger Directive ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Requirements ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Premerger Notifications ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
The US antitrust regulators continue to challenge consummated transactions. On January 3, 2020, the FTC filed an administrative complaint against Axon Enterprise, Inc., challenging its consummated acquisition of VieVu, a...more
1/20/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements
The US agencies continue to be aggressive and have blocked transactions or required significant remedies during the second quarter. The agencies cleared three mergers where divestitures were required. In the face of Federal...more
8/28/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
French Competition Authority ,
Institutional Investors ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Sherman Act
The recent FTC decision in the Northrop Grumman / Orbital ATK matter has shed light on the agency’s vertical merger enforcement policy and outlined a path to antitrust merger clearance for the Aerospace and Defense industry....more
6/19/2018
/ Aerospace ,
Antitrust Division ,
Consent Decrees ,
Defense Sector ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Divestiture ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Supply Chain ,
Vertical Mergers
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced several antitrust enforcement actions in advance of the inauguration of President Trump, including settlements for...more
Recently the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reached a $5 million settlement with Flakeboard America Limited, its parents and SierraPine to settle allegations that the parties engaged in...more