In the days leading up to President Trump’s inauguration, the Biden FTC rushed to initiate major lawsuits and to tie a bow on various antitrust policy efforts. In a series of dissenting statements, the minority Republican...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced, on January 7, 2025, that crude oil producers agreed to pay a record $5.6 million fine as settlement for violating the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (HSR Act) through illegal pre-merger...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) secured a record consent penalty of $5.6 million against two merging parties on January 7, 2025 for improper pre-merger coordination, marking the agency’s first gun-jumping action in over a...more
Crude oil producers XCL Resources Holdings, LLC (XCL), Verdun Oil Company II LLC (Verdun), and EP Energy LLC (EP) have agreed to pay a $5.6 million civil penalty to settle violations under Section 7A of the Clayton Act, as...more
On January, 7, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that crude oil producers XCL Resources Holdings, LLC (XCL), Verdun Oil Company II LLC (Verdun) and EP Energy LLC (EP) collectively will pay a $5.68 million...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rang in the new year this week by announcing that three crude oil producers had agreed to pay a $5.6 million fine to settle claims that they engaged in unlawful “gun-jumping” by prematurely...more
On January 7, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a settlement with three crude oil producers in which those companies will pay a $5.6 million fine to resolve claims they engaged in unlawful premerger...more
On August 5, 2024, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that it filed a civil complaint and proposed settlement with Legends Hospitality Parent Holdings LLC (“Legends”) for unlawful pre-merger coordination, commonly...more
On 10 April 2024, Australia’s Federal Government announced far-reaching reforms to its merger control regime, most notably the introduction of a new single, mandatory and suspensory, merger control system. The reform package...more
2024 is shaping up to be a year of significant change in Brussels. European Parliamentary elections in June will be followed by the appointment of a new Commission in the autumn....more
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has (mostly) confirmed the European Commission (EC)’s decision to fine Altice for implementing a transaction prior to its notification and the EC’s merger control clearance....more
Participants in the renewable energy industry should be aware of antitrust and competition rules because renewable energy is no longer a nascent field. Europe generated almost 40% of its electricity from renewable sources in...more
The Development: China's State Administration for Market Regulation ("SAMR") recently released four regulations ("Regulations") that implement 2022 amendments to the Anti-Monopoly Law of China ("AML"). The most significant...more
Advocate General Anthony Michael Collins has proposed that the European Court of Justice uphold the General Court's Altice judgment. In his Opinion, he considered that the entering into certain types of pre-closing covenants...more
On 18 May 2022, the European General Court rejected Canon’s appeal against a €28 million fine imposed by the European Commission in 2019 for its breach of EU gun-jumping rules, just a few months after a similar judgment,...more
Takeaways - More than 50 countries now have the discretion to conduct competition reviews of mergers below mandatory notification thresholds, and the European Commission, EU member states, the U.K. and others are using...more
Private equity firms have sought a greater number of buy and build opportunities in recent years, amid high valuations and competition for primary deals. In our view such deals carry higher antitrust risks and warrant careful...more
FTC takes another look at merger remedies - On 3 February 2017, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) released its Merger Remedies Study, which analyzed the success of merger remedies imposed by the FTC from 2006 to...more