Key Points
- Strong antitrust enforcement is expected to continue, but without the use of the novel and untested legal theories that defined the Biden administration approach.
- Regulators are likely to continue to focus...more
Key Points -
- We expect the second Trump administration to take a relatively aggressive approach to antitrust enforcement, as regulators did during President-elect Trump’s first term, because there is bipartisan support...more
In this edition of Insights, we take a closer look at the megadeals and sponsor transactions driving recent M&A activity, the importance of staying ahead of the risks in AI development and deployment, and other diverse...more
9/30/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Chevron Deference ,
Corner Post Inc v Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ,
Corporate Governance ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Government Agencies ,
Judicial Authority ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Machine Learning ,
Mergers ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Privacy Laws ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
SCOTUS ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
Technology Sector
Explore the unique considerations for mergers and acquisitions in the AI sector, the return of IPOs, the implications of new Supreme Court decisions and other developments in this edition of Skadden’s quarterly Insights....more
6/27/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Banking Sector ,
Capital Markets ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Corporate Governance ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Executive Compensation ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Life Sciences ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders ,
Technology
On May 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) jointly announced a request for members of the public to provide information that the agencies can use “to identify...more
6/3/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Firms ,
Request For Information
Antitrust Enforcers Are Increasingly Focused on Labor Markets, and Not Just in the Merger Context With antitrust regulators focused on competition in labor markets, companies should revisit their noncompete agreements,...more
3/29/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Capital Markets ,
Competition ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Taxation
Labor markets have been a focus of antitrust regulators at the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) since the Obama administration. Indications are that enforcers will be even more aggressive across...more
3/26/2024
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employees ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Investigations ,
Mergers ,
No-Poaching ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Wage-Fixing
On December 18, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) released the final 2023 Merger Guidelines (the Guidelines). While the final version of the Guidelines reflects...more
12/22/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Draft Guidance ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Horizontal Merger Guidelines ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Vertical Mergers
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) released a draft of proposed new merger guidelines today, 18 months after FTC Chair Lina Khan and Assistant Attorney General...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division — for the third time in the span of a year — recently failed to convince a jury that alleged agreements to fix or stabilize labor markets should be punished criminally. It...more
This edition of Skadden’s quarterly Insights looks at the rising number of de-SPACed companies seeking Chapter 11 protection, the growth of a market designed to assume legacy liabilities, an effort to establish...more
4/20/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Banking Sector ,
Capital Markets ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Corporate Governance ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Energy Tax Incentives ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Holding Companies ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Innovative Technology ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Inventions ,
Liability ,
Mergers ,
Patents ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Tax Credits
US Regulators Pursue an Expansive View of Antitrust Laws -
For almost two years, industry participants have felt the effects of the Biden administration’s “big is bad” approach to antitrust — not only in technology sectors,...more
12/19/2022
/ Antitrust Division ,
Biden Administration ,
Buyers ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Domestic Dealmaking ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Global Dealmaking ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Remedies ,
UK ,
Vertical Mergers
The pandemic’s impact may be subsiding, but businesses are encountering new challenges across the globe, including the potential for an economic retrenchment, rising interest rates, shifting regulatory and litigation...more
12/14/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Antitrust Division ,
Banking Sector ,
Big Tech ,
Board of Directors ,
Bonds ,
Borrowers ,
Capital Markets ,
Capital Raising ,
China ,
Climate Change ,
Convertible Notes ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Creditors ,
Cross-Border ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Due Diligence ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Forum Selection ,
Investigations ,
IRS ,
Lenders ,
Mergers ,
Money Laundering ,
Partnerships ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Recessions ,
Repurchases ,
Russia ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Taxation ,
Technology ,
UK ,
Vertical Mergers
This year, we expect to see new disclosure requirements; rule changes at the Securities and Exchange Commission that will affect directors; activists adopting new tactics; changes to shareholder voting processes; tax and...more
Takeaways -
Under the Biden administration’s “whole-of-government” approach to promoting competition, a range of agencies outside the DOJ and FTC have been asked to use their authority to reform markets.
Wide-ranging...more
In a September 22, 2021, memorandum to staff, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan formally laid out her “Vision and Priorities for the FTC,” reaffirming her calls for broad antitrust enforcement organized around...more
President Biden has signaled a pro-enforcement approach to antitrust policy by naming Columbia Law School professor Tim Wu as a White House adviser and nominating Lina Khan, who also teaches at Columbia Law, to be...more
The question is no longer whether the volatility created by the COVID-19 pandemic will deepen the difficulties businesses and other institutions face in the coming months, but by how much and in what ways. In the past few...more
3/21/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Audits ,
Board of Directors ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Court Closures ,
Debt-Equity ,
Energy Projects ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
IRS ,
Liquidity ,
Mergers ,
Power Infrastructure ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Shareholder Meetings ,
Stock Repurchases
On April 12, the Federal Trade Commission held a hearing to debate the extent to which the FTC should use retrospective reviews to strengthen merger enforcement. This was the latest in the series of hearings on Competition...more
4/26/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Administrative Hearings ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Commissioners ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Political Parties
The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Bureau of Competition has established a task force dedicated to monitoring competition in U.S. technology markets and taking enforcement actions as warranted. While the remit of the task...more
4/23/2019
/ Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Competition ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Emerging Technology Companies ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Agency Taskforce ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hospital Mergers ,
Mergers ,
Technology Sector
Skadden’s Antitrust and Competition Group and the economics firm Charles River Associates recently co-hosted the ninth annual “Antitrust in the Technology Sector: Policy Perspectives and Insights From the Enforcers” seminar...more
3/5/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
AT&T ,
Bid Rigging ,
Cartels ,
Cloud Computing ,
Collusion ,
Competition ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Marketplace ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FRAND ,
Innovation ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Monopolization ,
No-Poaching ,
Online Platforms ,
Qualcomm ,
Reputational Injury ,
Social Media ,
Technology Sector ,
Time Warner ,
Vertical Mergers
On January 25, 2017, Skadden hosted a panel discussion at the London Stock Exchange on the potential policy direction of the Trump administration. The panel touched on tax reform, trade agreements, inbound and outbound U.S....more
2/14/2017
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Foreign Investment ,
Global Economy ,
International Relations ,
London Stock Exchange ,
Mergers ,
Multinationals ,
National Security ,
NATO ,
Repatriation ,
Repeal ,
Russia ,
Tax Reform ,
Trans-Pacific Partnership ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
Ukraine
On October 21, 2016, Skadden presented a seminar titled “Antitrust Law and Policies From Brussels to Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Divide?” in Brussels. Former DG Competition Director General Sir Philip Lowe gave the keynote...more
12/19/2016
/ Brussels Regulation ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Free Movement ,
Geo-Blocking ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)