On Friday, January 27, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
announced the revised “size of transaction” thresholds for 2018 for reporting proposed mergers and acquisitions under Section 7A of the Clayton Act, as added by the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (15 U.S.C. § 18a).
Under the size-of-transaction thresholds for 2018, parties must file the required HSR notification with the FTC and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for all transactions valued above $337.6 million. Parties to transactions valued between $84.4 million and $337.6 million must also file the required HSR notification with the FTC and DOJ if they meet the “size of parties” threshold. For 2018, the size-of-parties thresholds will increase to $16.9 million and $168.8 million.
The FTC adjusts these thresholds annually based on changes in gross national product. The new thresholds will become effective on February 28, 2018, and will apply to all transactions that close on or after that effective date.
