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
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
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has proposed, for comment, significant changes to the information and documents to be submitted with premerger filings—even in transactions that do not raise significant antitrust issues....more
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
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
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 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted July 21, 2021, to repeal a 1995 policy statement that eliminated prior approval and prior notice provisions from most merger settlements. In repealing this longstanding policy—and...more
JANUARY – MARCH 2021: HIGHLIGHTS -
UNITED STATES -
- As the United States rounds the corner toward getting the COVID-19 epidemic under control within its borders, the US antitrust enforcers have seen a major spike in...more
5/4/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Competition ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Healthcare ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Technology ,
UK
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)
What Happened:
- The FTC and DOJ proposed new Hart–Scott–Rodino (HSR) rules that, if issued in final form, will significantly change HSR practice for Private Equity (PE) companies.
- The Proposed Rules are subject to...more
In a prior note we provided guidance on COVID-19’s Impact on HSR Filing Timelines. The Agencies had indicated that early termination would not be granted while FTC operated on a temporary e-filing system...more
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
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 Premerger Notification Office (PNO) of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently formalized a new position on Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (HSR Act) reporting obligations for certain not-for-profit, non-stock transactions. The...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
WHAT HAPPENED:
• On August 7, the FTC published a new Model Timing Agreement. Timing agreements are agreements between FTC staff and merging parties that outline the FTC’s expected timing for various events in order for it...more
The US Federal Trade Commission recently announced increased thresholds for the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 and for determining whether parties trigger the prohibition against interlocking directors...more
Transactions that meet the Hart-Scott-Rodino thresholds for notification must be reported to the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and Department of Justice. Where a notified transaction raises competition concerns, the...more
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
Pursuant to the amendments passed by the US Congress in 2000, the FTC announced revised thresholds for HSR pre-merger notifications on January 19, 2017. These increased thresholds will become effective 30 days following...more
Recent Enforcement Trends in Divestiture Packages -
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division have been actively challenging mergers and acquisitions (M&A) across a...more
8/9/2016
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Divestiture ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Joint Venture ,
Mergers ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Price Discrimination
Notification Threshold Adjustments -
Pursuant to the amendments passed by Congress in 2000, the FTC announced revised thresholds for HSR pre-merger notifications on January 21, 2016. These increased thresholds will...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a settlement on August 24, 2015, with Third Point Funds for failing to file a notification under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (HSR Act) in connection with the...more