United States -
2024 ended with 17 concluded significant merger investigations, the second-lowest total in DAMITT’s 14-year history, behind only the record-low 12 concluded in 2023 also under the Biden administration....more
1/31/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Investigations ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers
We had previously questioned whether the new approach to Article 22 EUMR followed by the EC would herald a new era in EU merger control, leading to an increased number of deals being reviewed, and more importantly an...more
10/31/2024
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Government Investigations ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Controls ,
Regulatory Requirements
The U.S. agencies concluded 11 significant merger investigations in the first half of 2024—just one shy of the total concluded in all of 2023. Activity has picked up considerably since last year but is still below the...more
8/7/2024
/ Abandonment ,
Consent Decrees ,
EU ,
EUMR ,
European Commission ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Investigations ,
Mergers ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
The Clayton Act
The U.S. agencies announced the conclusion of six significant merger investigations in Q1 2024, double the number seen last quarter. This marks the end of six quarters of three or fewer significant investigations. In line...more
Only 12 significant merger investigations concluded in 2023—a drop of 40 percent from just last year and by far the lowest in DAMITT history. This observed and verifiable drop sharply contrasts with recent reports that...more
United States -
All significant U.S. merger investigations concluded in either a complaint or an abandoned transaction. Four of the last five quarters have now concluded without any consent agreements, demonstrating the...more
All significant U.S. merger investigations concluded in either a complaint or an abandoned transaction. Three of four quarters over the last year have now concluded without any consent agreements, demonstrating the agencies’...more
The European Commission has published new guidance and related regulations concerning cooperation among competitors, under Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). These replace instruments...more
6/14/2023
/ Algorithms ,
Climate Change ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Infrastructure ,
Safe Harbors ,
Sustainability ,
Technology Sector ,
Telecommunications ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)
Sixty percent of significant investigations concluded with a complaint or abandoned transaction in 2022. This shatters last year’s record of 37 percent. The 10 complaints filed in 2022 are also a DAMITT record. Those are...more
U.S. Government Releases Guide of ‘Minimum Baseline’ Cybersecurity Practices for Protecting Critical Infrastructure -
The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (“CISA”) has released a guide to help organizations...more
11/11/2022
/ Advisory Board ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
European Commission ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
European Data Protection Board (EDPB) ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Homeland Security Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) ,
International Data Transfers ,
Internet of Things ,
Joint Control ,
New Guidance ,
Popular ,
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership ,
TTP
Key Facts -
United States -
• Only three significant merger investigations concluded in Q3 2022. All three investigations ended with a complaint or an abandoned transaction. For the first time in more than a decade,...more
On 12 October the Digital Markets Act (DMA)1 was published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The DMA will enter into force on 1 November 2022 and will apply as of 2 May 2023. The DMA introduces European-wide ex...more
10/26/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Competition ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Digital Markets Strategy ,
Digital Platforms ,
Enforcement ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Member State ,
Mergers ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Sanctions
SEC Chair Gensler Indicates Commission is Looking to Update SEC’s Regulation S-P -
On September 28, 2022, Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission”) Chairman Gary Gensler appeared via video at the...more
10/14/2022
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Algorithms ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
EU ,
EU-US Privacy Shield ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
Gramm-Leach-Blilely Act ,
Hackers ,
Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) ,
International Data Transfers ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Companies ,
Privacy Framework ,
Regulation S-P ,
Request For Information ,
Right of Access ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Subject Access Request (SAR) ,
Title V ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Uber ,
UK ,
UK GDPR
On June 30, 2022, the EU institutions reached a political agreement on the text for the FSR that will give far-reaching powers to the EC to control subsidies provided by non-EU governments to businesses active in the EU....more
Federal Privacy Bill (ADPPA) is Sent to the House Floor but Obstacles to its Passage Remain -
On July 20, 2022, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce (“the Committee”) voted 53-2 in favor of advancing The American Data...more
8/5/2022
/ Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
FCC ,
Geolocation ,
Popular ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
T-Mobile ,
Vulnerability Assessments
In both our DAMITT 2021 Report and our Q1 2022 Report, we warned that parties to transactions subject to significant merger investigations were more likely to see the FTC or DOJ sue to block their deal or push them to abandon...more
7/26/2022
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Statistics ,
EU ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Government Investigations ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Merger Controls
In the U.S., “significant” merger investigations include Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act reportable transactions for which the result of the investigation by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or the Antitrust Division of the...more
4/21/2022
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Controls ,
Settlement Agreements
The number of significant U.S. merger investigations concluded in the first year of the Biden administration was in line with the average observed during the Trump administration....more
EDPB Issues Draft Guidance on International Data Transfers -
On November 18, 2021, the European Data Protection Board (“EDPB”) published draft guidance on the interaction between the GDPR’s transfer provisions set out in...more
12/10/2021
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Management ,
Data Protection ,
EU ,
EU Data Protection Laws ,
European Commission ,
European Data Protection Board (EDPB) ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
International Data Transfers ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Standard Contractual Clauses
Key Facts - United States - Dechert has yet to see an increase in concluded significant U.S. merger investigations despite a surge in merger filings that began in the fall of 2020. Instead, we continue to see a decrease in...more
Key facts - United States - Despite Big Tech headlines, the percentage of significant U.S. merger investigations involving technology companies was below the average for the last decade. By contrast, merger investigations in...more
On 10 February 2021, over two and a half years after the anticipated adoption of the e-Privacy Regulation, European Member States have agreed to a revised text. Portending a potential break in the three-year impasse, the...more
2/17/2021
/ Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
e-Privacy Directive ,
EU ,
EU Data Protection Laws ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Member State ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements
Recent notable industry transactions.
The Alan Turing Institute, the Royal Statistical Society and the UK Department of Health and Social Care's Joint Biosecurity Centre finalised a partnership agreement in relation to the...more
12/2/2020
/ AstraZeneca ,
Bayer ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Life Sciences ,
Merck ,
Mylan Pharmaceuticals ,
Pfizer ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
UK
Medicines and Medical Devices Bill (MMDB) – The MMDB is intended to act as the primary UK legislation specifying powers that would enable the regulatory regimes for human medicines, clinical trials, veterinary medicines and...more
As the most tax advantageous HMRC approved share option scheme available, the Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) scheme has long been the preferred form of incentive for eligible early and mid-stage UK-based life science...more