The US antitrust regulators continued to aggressively challenge transactions and associated Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) violations during the third quarter of 2024. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) litigated two merger challengers involving Kroger/Albertsons and Tapestry/Capri. On October 24, 2024, Tapestry/Capri was decided in the government’s favor and a Kroger/Albertsons decision is expected in the next month. The FTC filed a lawsuit in July challenging the Tempur Sealy/Mattress Firm transaction under a novel customer foreclosure theory and at least one transaction was abandoned due to FTC opposition. Both the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FTC also brought gun-jumping HSR violations, resulting in significant fines. In addition, the US antitrust agencies just released new rules for HSR filings, which will make HSR filings more costly and lengthy.
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