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
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 March 5, 2024, the White House announced the establishment of a new “Strike Force on Unfair and Illegal Pricing” (the “Strike Force”) stating that the Biden administration will hold accountable “corporations . . . when...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
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
The Luxembourg Competition Authority (“LCA”) announced that it is launching a market study into the “blockchain sector,” particularly the relationship between Web21 companies and Web32 projects. In its press release, the LCA...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
Historically, companies gave little thought to antitrust considerations when they developed environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) goals and plans. Recently, this has changed....more
7/15/2022
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Boycotts ,
Cartels ,
Certification Requirements ,
Code of Conduct ,
Collaboration ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
European Commission ,
Information Sharing ,
Performance Standards ,
Price-Fixing ,
Safe Harbors
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’s Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) has announced that it intends to bring more cases against “interlocking directorates” that violate Section 8 of the Clayton Act. Such “interlocks” occur when competing...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
With Lina Kahn the new chair of the FTC and Jonathan Kanter poised to helm DOJ’s Antitrust Division, are big changes afoot in antitrust enforcement? What role is fellow big tech critic and competition progressive Tim Wu, now...more
U.S. antitrust agencies have jointly announced that they are encouraging certain competitor collaborations in response to the COVID-19 epidemic, and that—although antitrust laws remain in force—the agencies will provide...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), as well as the thresholds...more
1/30/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
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