Fierce Competition Podcast | Private Equity Under the Antitrust Microscope
The Latest on Antitrust Compliance
What Happened? As reported by Alston & Bird’s Antitrust Group, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice hosted the first public meeting of the Strike Force on Unfair and Illegal Pricing (the “Strike...more
The FTC lost its challenge to Novant's acquisition of two hospitals owned by Community Health Systems ("CHS") but obtained an injunction pending appeal. Soon after learning the injunction was granted, Novant dropped the...more
On May 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Antitrust Division announced a Request for Information (“RFI”) seeking information from the public to “identify serial acquisitions...more
For the third time in as many months, the U.S. federal antitrust enforcement authorities -- the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice -- have filed a statement of interest in an...more
Just over a year has passed since President Biden signed the State Antitrust Enforcement Venue Act (the State AG Venue Act or Act) into law, and state attorneys general (AG) have already taken advantage of the law’s...more
On March 5, the FTC convened a workshop with regulators, academics and stakeholders to discuss the impact of private equity in the healthcare market. The workshop reflects the FTC and DOJ Antitrust Division’s recent focus on...more
At the end of January, Attorneys General Jonathan Skrmetti of Tennessee and Jason Miyares of Virginia filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee alleging that the NCAA’s newest name,...more
On February 26, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued an administrative complaint and authorized a lawsuit in federal court to block Kroger Company’s proposed $24.6 billion acquisition of the Albertsons Companies,...more
California Attorney General (AG) Rob Bonta and Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore Jim Wood have introduced new legislation addressing private equity health care deals. The bill, A.B. 3129, would grant the AG oversight over private...more
On December 13, a West Virginia federal judge placed a temporary hold on an NCAA rule (NCAA Division I Bylaw 14.5.5.1) requiring certain student-athletes who transferred schools to wait a year before competing in games. This...more
In the second installment of our “Fierce Competition” podcast, partners Ken Schwartz, Tara Reinhart and Aurora Luoma discuss issues that antitrust attorneys — on both the corporate and litigation side — encounter as antitrust...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have partnered to fight anticompetitive, unfair and deceptive practices in a new formal collaboration between the agencies. ...more
The third quarter of 2023 was eventful for both domestic and international cartel enforcers. In the United States, the Department of Justice (DOJ) continues to revamp policies to sharpen its enforcement efforts. On...more
In late September, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). In the MOU, the two agencies expressed their “good-faith intentions” to work together...more
Here are curated AG and federal regulatory news stories highlighting key areas in which state and federal regulators’ decisions are having an impact across the US: • AGs Ask Congress for Joint Effort in Making Banking...more
Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) filed suit in federal district court alleging that U.S. Anesthesia Partners, Inc. (“USAP”), and the private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (“Welsh Carson”), which...more
In perhaps the first case addressing transfer of a federal antitrust action to an MDL court, Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Alexandria Division of the EDVA recently denied a motion to transfer an antitrust action against Google...more
On Tuesday June 6, 2023, the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced an agreement to combine PIF’s golf-related commercial businesses and rights (including LIV Golf) with the commercial...more
In August, we wrote about whether antitrust liability might be in the PGA Tour’s future through a reported DOJ Antitrust Division investigation about the PGA Tour’s actions relating to LIV Golf and about PGA Tour bylaws...more
In Short - The Development: China's Supreme People's Court recently ruled for the plaintiff in Miao Chong v. SAIC-GM, which marked a rare triumph for a plaintiff in antitrust litigation as a follow-on to an administrative...more
Antitrust is in the news. Old cartoons showing octopus-monopolist tentacles destroying Washington are no longer just for American history textbooks. Lina Khan—who rose to prominence with an article attacking the Chicago...more
The Hungarian Parliament has recently adopted an amendment to the Hungarian Competition Act, in Act LV of 2022, which will enter into force on 1 January 2023 (the “Amendment”).The changes include increased general turnover...more
On December 12, 2022, the Dutch Arnhem-Leeuwarden Court of Appeal (the court) confirmed that a former director of Heiploeg, a North Sea shrimp supplier, was personally liable for over €13 million in damages ($13.8 million) as...more
Nearly six years after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) put human resource executives and their companies on notice that no-poach and wage-fixing agreements would be subject to...more
Recent actions by the Saudi Arabia competition authority confirm that the agency is adopting a more aggressive enforcement approach, particularly involving consumer-facing companies. The Saudi Arabian General Authority...more