Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted unanimously to issue a final rule that implements significant changes to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) premerger notification form and accompanying instructions. While the...more
On December 18, 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued the final version of new merger review guidelines (Merger Guidelines), five months after the agencies published a draft for...more
1/3/2024
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Comment Period ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Horizontal Merger Guidelines ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Vertical Mergers
On August 16, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission took action to resolve its antitrust concerns associated with a proposed transaction between EQT Corporation (EQT) and private equity firm QEP Partners, LP (Quantum) pursuant...more
8/25/2023
/ Antitrust Division ,
Common Stock ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
Private Equity ,
Section 8 ,
The Clayton Act
On July 19, 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a draft version of new Merger Guidelines (Merger Guidelines), which would replace the 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines and the...more
On June 27, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in concurrence with the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice (DOJ), announced a proposal to drastically overhaul the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) premerger...more
7/7/2023
/ Antitrust Division ,
Biden Administration ,
De Minimus Doctrine ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Requirements ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Non-Voting Shares ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Public Comment ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Threshold Requirements
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has announced the annual revisions to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (“HSR Act”) thresholds, which will become effective on February 23, 2022. The revised thresholds...more
On July 9, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14036, “Promoting Competition in the American Economy,” which broadly targets anticompetitive practices and corporate consolidation across many sectors of the U.S....more
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has announced the annual revisions to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (“HSR Act”) thresholds, which will become effective on March 4, 2021. Pursuant to Section 7A(a)(2)...more
On September 3, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division released a revised Merger Remedies Manual (“Manual”), providing a modernized framework to structure and implement remedies in merger cases where DOJ...more
On June 30, 2020, the Department of Justice and a split Federal Trade Commission released the final version of their new Vertical Merger Guidelines, which outline how the federal antitrust agencies evaluate the competitive...more
7/9/2020
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Guidance ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Manufacturers ,
Mergers ,
Retailers ,
Supply Chain ,
Transparency ,
Vertical Mergers
The U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) has prevailed in a first-of-its-kind arbitration, resolving its challenge to aluminum producer Novelis Inc.’s $2.6 billion proposed acquisition of rival Aleris...more
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has announced the annual revisions to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (“HSR Act”) thresholds, which will become effective on February 27, 2020. The revised thresholds will...more
1/29/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Size of Persons Test ,
Size of Transaction Test ,
Threshold Requirements
On January 10, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission released draft Vertical Merger Guidelines for public comment. The new guidelines, which will replace the outdated 1984 Non-Horizontal Merger...more
In a major policy shift, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice recently announced that it will now credit companies for effective corporate antitrust compliance programs in making charging decisions and penalty...more
On February 26, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit unanimously affirmed a district court decision rejecting the U.S. Department of Justice’s challenge to AT&T’s $85 billion merger with Time Warner, cementing...more
The past couple of years have seen an increase in large “vertical” mergers, combinations of businesses operating within the same industry but at different levels of the supply chain. Some of the most high profile include...more
2/1/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Supply Chain ,
Vertical Mergers
The past month has seen interesting developments in the antitrust M&A arena, including the first ever successful private antitrust merger challenge resulting in a divestiture order, and the announcement by the Department of...more
On June 12, 2018, after a six-week trial, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon denied the U.S. Department of Justice’s request to block AT&T Inc.’s $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc., one of the most high-profile...more
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has announced the annual revisions to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (“HSR Act”) thresholds, which will become effective on February 28, 2018. The revised thresholds will...more
1/31/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Mergers ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Size of Transaction Test ,
The Clayton Act ,
Threshold Requirements
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced the annual revisions to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (HSR Act) thresholds, which will become effective on February 27, 2017. The revised thresholds will...more
The Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have jointly issued written guidance for human resource (HR) professionals on how antitrust law applies to employee hiring and...more
10/26/2016
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Criminal Liability ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
New Guidance ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Sherman Act ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage-Fixing
On July 12, 2016, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that investment firm ValueAct Capital (“ValueAct”) agreed to pay a record $11 million fine to settle charges that it and its affiliates violated the reporting and...more
On July 20, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released revisions to its interpretation of the rule, 16 C.F.R. §802.5, that exempts certain acquisitions of “investment rental property assets” from reportability under...more
7/24/2015
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Commercial Leases ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Exemptions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Rental Property ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Storage Tanks
The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (Antitrust Division) continues to intensify and expand criminal enforcement of the antitrust laws. The results speak for themselves. In fiscal year 2014, the Antitrust...more
On November 7, 2014, Flakeboard America Limited (Flakeboard), its parent companies, and SierraPine entered into a settlement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) resolving allegations that the parties engaged in illegal...more