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Draft Guidance ,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
Takeaways - With increasingly aggressive antitrust and foreign investment reviews, directors need to be fully informed about the risks of deals from the beginning of negotiations. Boards should insist that management and its...more
In a continuation of recent Department of Justice (DOJ) successes challenging mergers, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia recently enjoined two more proposed mergers brought and litigated under the Obama...more
2/14/2017
/ Acquisitions ,
Aetna ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Anthem Insurance ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
CIGNA ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Insurance ,
Humana ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Mergers ,
State Health Insurance Exchanges
On January 13, 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (collectively, the Agencies) issued revised Antitrust Guidelines for the Licensing of Intellectual Property...more
1/20/2017
/ Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Comity ,
Competition Authorities ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTAIA ,
International Harmonization ,
IP License ,
New Guidance
On November 28, 2016, the Premerger Notification Office of the Federal Trade Commission (PNO) and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) both announced potentially important changes in the way the agencies...more
On October 20, 2016, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) jointly issued new guidance designed to help human resources professionals and their companies understand...more
11/4/2016
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Civil Liability ,
Criminal Liability ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
New Guidance ,
No-Poaching ,
Technology Sector ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage-Fixing
On May 17, 2016, one week after announcing his decision, Judge Emmet Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia released a public version of his opinion siding with the Federal Trade Commission in its...more
On May 10, 2016, Judge Emmet G. Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia released his highly anticipated decision in the matter of Staples’ acquisition of Office Depot, granting the Federal Trade...more
On April 4, 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (DOJ) filed a complaint against activist investor ValueAct Capital in California federal court, requesting a $19 million fine for violations of the...more
4/11/2016
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Investment-Only Exemption ,
Investors ,
Notice Requirements ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
December 7, 2015, was an eventful day for U.S. antitrust enforcement agencies. The Department of Justice achieved a high-profile win when General Electric Co. decided to abandon the proposed sale of its appliance unit to...more
On September 24, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio denied the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) bid to enjoin Steris Corporation (Steris) from acquiring its alleged potential competitor, Synergy...more
On August 13, 2015, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued formal guidance on Section 5 enforcement consisting of a general statement of principles1 to guide application of its authority to challenge “unfair methods...more
8/24/2015
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Public Policy ,
Rule-of-Reason Analysis ,
Section 5 ,
Sherman Act ,
Standalone Authority ,
The Clayton Act ,
Unfair Competition
On April 22, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit handed the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) another significant victory in a hospital merger, ruling that the FTC’s decision and order...more
On April 9, 2014, the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Terrell McSweeny to the Federal Trade Commission. Commissioner McSweeny’s appointment creates a Democratic majority on the five-member commission, sparking...more
In a unanimous decision issued on February 19, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the state-action doctrine did not immunize Phoebe Putney Health System’s acquisition of Palmyra Park Hospital in Albany, Georgia.1 The...more
2/22/2013
/ Acquisitions ,
Clear-Articulation Test ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC v. Phoebe Putney Health System ,
Government Entities ,
Governmental Immunity ,
Governmental Liability ,
Hospital Mergers ,
Hospitals ,
Monopolization ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
State Action Doctrine