The two U.S. antitrust authorities—the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (collectively, the “Agencies”)—have jointly proposed new Draft Merger Guidelines to replace...more
On July 10, 2023, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California denied the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) request to grant a preliminary injunction of Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of...more
On February 2, 2023, Doha Mekki, Principal Deputy Attorney General (DAAG) for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division, announced the agency’s withdrawal of three enforcement policy statements related to...more
2/7/2023
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Joint Venture ,
Mergers ,
Personal Information ,
Sherman Act
On January 23, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released the revised Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act jurisdictional thresholds for 2023. The FTC is required by law to revise the HSR Act monetary jurisdictional thresholds...more
2/1/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Size of Persons Test ,
Size of Transaction Test ,
Threshold Requirements
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed an administrative complaint to block Microsoft Corporation’s (Microsoft’s) nearly $70 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Activision), the largest video game acquisition...more
12/13/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Administrative Complaints ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Gaming ,
Microsoft ,
Online Gaming
Last month, we reported that the U. S. Department of Justice (DOJ) had threatened multiple public companies, private equity investors, and individuals with lawsuits for violating the ban on interlocking directorates under...more
In what appears to be a significant expansion of its antitrust enforcement efforts, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued letters to multiple public companies, investors, and individuals this week, stating it may bring...more
9/23/2022
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Safe Harbors ,
The Clayton Act
Wilson Sonsini provides extensive and cutting-edge legal services for innovators, technology pioneers, and disruptors. As part of our focus on emerging technologies, our attorneys are publishing a series on applying and...more
On July 8, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a motion for an emergency preliminary injunction to abrogate Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation's (Booz Allen's) merger agreement with EverWatch Corp....more
The FTC's case against Facebook will be allowed to proceed now that the district court has held its Amended Complaint plausibly alleged violations of Section 2 of the Sherman Act related to Facebook's acquisition of Instagram...more
1/19/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Big Tech ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Instagram ,
Monopolization ,
Sherman Act ,
Social Media ,
WhatsApp
On September 15, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hosted its third open meeting in as many months. The commission adopted the four items on its agenda and FTC staff gave a presentation on its study of acquisitions by...more
More than halfway through year one of the Biden administration, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are flexing their muscles and confirming the early consensus view that antitrust risk would be...more
Our antitrust practice is pleased to present a new report addressing the prevalence of risk-shifting provisions in merger agreements. As antitrust agencies continue to galvanize enforcement efforts, such provisions have...more
On September 21, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced two proposed changes to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act of 1976, as amended, implementing rules. These changes could significantly increase the reporting...more
On October 22, 2016, AT&T announced its $108 billion proposed acquisition of Time Warner. After a year-plus investigation, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed suit to enjoin the merger, alleging that the transaction would...more
6/20/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
AT&T ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
FCC ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Media ,
Multichannel Video Programming ,
Time Warner
Nearly a year and a half after the deal was announced, on April 6, 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) challenged Halliburton's proposed $35 billion acquisition of rival oilfield services provider Baker Hughes. The DOJ...more