On Thursday, April 10, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Mark Meador as a Commissioner of the FTC. Previously, it was expected that Meador’s confirmation would lead to significant changes at the FTC, as his presence on the...more
Both the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division have now brought cases challenging deals under President Trump’s administration. In many respects, the theories of harm alleged in...more
3/24/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Commissioners ,
Healthcare ,
Horizontal Merger Guidelines ,
Likelihood of Harm ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Technology Sector
On January 10, 2025, the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission filed a statement of interest in Musk v. Altman, signaling a late push by the government to expand the scope of liability for interlocking...more
1/20/2025
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Competition ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Elon Musk ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Microsoft ,
Section 8 ,
The Clayton Act
On December 11, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice unexpectedly withdrew the 2000 Antitrust Guidelines for Collaborations Among Competitors (Collaboration Guidelines)....more
On Tuesday, December 10, Donald Trump announced two picks for placements on the Federal Trade Commission: Commissioner Andrew Ferguson for Chair and Mark Meador for Commissioner. While Meador’s appointment requires Senate...more
12/17/2024
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Agricultural Sector ,
Antitrust Division ,
Biden Administration ,
Big Tech ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sherman Act ,
Trump Administration
On Wednesday, December 4, Donald Trump announced his pick to run the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division: Gail Slater.
Slater is a seasoned antitrust attorney with extensive government experience....more
On October 10, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), with the concurrence of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, (the “DOJ”, and together, the “Agencies”) voted unanimously to adopt new premerger...more
The Federal Trade Commission announced the annual revised thresholds for merger notifications under the Hart Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (“HSR Act”). The thresholds are revised annually based...more
1/24/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Size of Persons Test ,
Size of Transaction Test ,
Threshold Requirements
This week’s filings by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) against Amazon.com, Inc. (“Amazon”) and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) against Agri Stats, Inc. (“Agri Stats”) exemplify the agencies’ broad...more
With one day for Congress to enact appropriations funding federal government operations, the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (the “Agencies”) each issued a contingency plan (the “Plans”)...more
On June 27, 2023 the Federal Trade Commission, with the concurrence of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, (together, the “Agencies”) announced proposed amendments to the premerger notification rules that...more
7/3/2023
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Controls ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Proposed Amendments
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently reported that parties filed U.S. pre-merger notifications for only 181 transactions in October 2022, an almost 60% drop year over year from October 2021’s 443 number, and a marked...more
The business community was put on notice last week after the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the resignations of seven directors from five corporate boards following what DOJ called the “first in a broader review of...more
11/1/2022
/ Antitrust Division ,
Competition ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Directors ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Section 8 ,
The Clayton Act ,
Threshold Requirements
After leaving the position vacant for six long months, the Biden Administration announced that it would nominate Jonathan Kanter for the position of Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division at the Department of...more
During an already busy year for antitrust legislative and regulatory proposals, on July 9, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14036: “Promoting Competition in the American Economy.” The Executive Order (“EO”)...more
7/16/2021
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Antitrust Division ,
Banking Sector ,
Biden Administration ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Technology Sector ,
Vertical Mergers
Competitors, especially healthcare providers, are actively seeking ways to engage in collaborative efforts to help address the COVID-19 outbreak. Appreciating the challenge, necessity, and time pressures of such competitor...more