The Trump Administration’s antitrust enforcement priorities are beginning to take shape. On January 20, 2025, President Trump designated former Federal Trade Commission (FTC) commissioner Andrew Ferguson as the agency’s next...more
1/23/2025
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Big Tech ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Free Speech ,
Mergers ,
Natural Resources ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration
The re-election of former President Donald J. Trump is poised to significantly alter the landscape of antitrust enforcement, particularly within the energy and chemical industries. While the incoming administration has yet to...more
1/16/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bid Rigging ,
Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Emergency Response ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Monopolization ,
Natural Disasters ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Oil & Gas ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Renewable Energy ,
Statutory Authority ,
Trump Administration
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has revised the thresholds that govern pre-merger notification requirements under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (“HSR Act”), and Section 8 of the...more
1/14/2025
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Directors ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Requirements ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Section 8 ,
The Clayton Act
The incoming Trump administration suggests a potential return to more traditional levels of antitrust enforcement for energy industry mergers and a departure from novel theories of harm seen under current Federal Trade...more
1/8/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Emerging Technologies ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
The Clayton Act ,
Trump Administration
On December 18, 2024, the Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) announced that Tencent Holdings Ltd. (“Tencent”) had removed two directors from the board of Epic Games, Inc. (“Epic”) and relinquished its right to unilaterally...more
1/7/2025
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Board Members ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EPIC ,
Section 8 ,
The Clayton Act ,
Trump Administration ,
Video Games
On December 11, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) jointly issued a statement withdrawing their Antitrust Guidelines for Collaborations Among Competitors. The...more
On October 10, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”), with the Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s concurrence, released a Final Rule containing long-anticipated revisions to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act...more
10/17/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Board of Directors ,
Buyers ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
NAICS ,
Popular ,
Target Company
On October 10, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”), with the Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s concurrence, released a Final Rule containing the long-anticipated revisions to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act...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
Since generative AI burst into the mainstream, companies have raced to capitalize on its extraordinary promise. But as with any technological frontier, this promise does not come without risks, and companies can expect to...more
6/25/2024
/ Algorithms ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Competition ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Electricity ,
Innovative Technology ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Inventions ,
Market Manipulation ,
Transmission Grid ,
USPTO
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has revised the thresholds that govern pre-merger notification requirements under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (“HSR Act”), and Section 8 of the...more
1/25/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Mergers ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Section 8 ,
Size of Persons Test ,
Size of Transaction Test ,
The Clayton Act ,
Threshold Requirements
For companies in the energy and chemical sectors, the potential for antitrust scrutiny is an ever-present concern. The next round of enforcement inquiries is never further away than the next jump in commodity prices or the...more
1/15/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Collusion ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Divestiture ,
Energy Commissions ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Mergers ,
Oversight Committee ,
Private Equity
On December 18, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Justice (the “Agencies”) jointly released new Merger Guidelines (the “Guidelines”), setting forth the analytical framework the Agencies will use to...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
11/13/2023
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Bid Rigging ,
Boycotts ,
CFIUS ,
Competition ,
Corporate Financing Rule ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FERC ,
Filed-Rate Doctrine ,
FIRRMA ,
Green Energy ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Hedging ,
Institutional Investors ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Investors ,
ISOs ,
Merger Controls ,
Price-Fixing ,
Renewable Energy ,
Restructuring
This checklist outlines antitrust considerations for the use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) technology. Practices involving AI that could give rise to antitrust risk include algorithmic collusion, exclusionary practices...more
On June 27, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), with the concurrence of the Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (together with the FTC, the “Agencies”), announced...more
On April 28, 2023, U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden issued the latest blow to the Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) efforts to criminally prosecute individuals who engage in “no-poach” agreements by granting the defendants’...more
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has revised the thresholds that govern pre-merger notification requirements under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (“HSR Act”), and Section 8 of the...more
2/10/2023
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Size of Persons Test ,
Size of Transaction Test ,
The Clayton Act ,
Threshold Requirements
Hart-Scott-Rodino (“HSR”) Act (“HSR Act”) fees are changing, and the HSR process is also changing with the inclusion of new filing tiers, one less expensive tier, several much more expensive tiers, and new state-level and...more
On September 15, 2022, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) sued to block ASSA ABLOY AB’s (“ASSA ABLOY”) proposed $4.3 billion acquisition of the Hardware and Home Improvement division of Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc....more
In a pair of unanimous decisions, the Federal Trade Commission this week issued consent orders resolving challenges to two acquisitions. Both enforcement actions focus on top priorities of the Biden antitrust enforcers...more
The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) recently signaled a possible shift in its antitrust merger review and remedies practice, moving away from a willingness to allow transactions to proceed through a divesture process....more
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has revised the thresholds that govern pre-merger notification requirements under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (“HSR Act”). The new HSR Act...more
Antitrust activity increased significantly in 2021. This past year brought numerous changes in merger and non-merger enforcement policies and priorities that signal increased scrutiny in industry transactions. The “Biden...more
1/19/2022
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
AMG Capital Management LLC v FTC ,
Antitrust Division ,
Big Tech ,
Chemicals ,
Competition ,
Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act of 2015 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Joe Biden ,
Market Manipulation ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
No-Poaching ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oil Prices ,
Pipelines ,
Price Inflation ,
Procurement Collusion Strike Force ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SCOTUS ,
Transparency ,
Vertical Mergers ,
Warning Letters
On December 2, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it had filed an administrative complaint (the “Complaint”) to block Nvidia Corp.’s (“Nvidia”) $40 billion acquisition of U.K. chip design provider Arm...more