As expected, the final guidelines expand the types of transactions that may receive heightened scrutiny or result in a merger challenge....more
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) recently introduced proposed revisions to the existing merger guidelines. The new draft guidelines, if enacted in a form similar...more
In Short -
The Situation: In parallel federal actions, the Department of Justice ("DOJ"), Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC"), and Federal Trade Commission ("FTC")...more
7/24/2023
/ CFTC ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Market Manipulation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud
A plea deal with a paving contractor follows the Department of Justice Antitrust Division's ("DOJ") threat to resurrect criminal enforcement of the Sherman Act § 2 prohibition on monopolization and attempted monopolization....more
Saudi Arabia competition authority blocks its first transaction under the Kingdom's 2019 Competition Law.
The Saudi Arabian General Authority for Competition ("GAC") announced this week that its board had blocked Delivery...more
What Is the FTC's New "Prior Approval" Policy? At the end of an FTC investigation into the competitive impact of a merger, the agency may (i) take no action (allowing the parties to close), (ii) challenge the transaction...more
11/4/2021
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Merger Controls ,
Policy Management ,
Policy Statement ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Approval ,
Regulatory Reform
Expansion of FTC's Interpretation of Its Antitrust Enforcement Authority -The Commission majority has reinvigorated a longstanding but dormant debate about the bounds of the FTC's authority under Section 5 of the FTC Act....more
Indictment is DOJ's second recently filed in the North District of Texas.
The Department of Justice ("DOJ") has brought a criminal indictment against a corporate defendant for agreeing with competitors not to solicit...more
Last week, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas dismissed antitrust claims against Easi-Set Industries. Plaintiff Tricon Precast claimed Easi-Set violated the Sherman Act and Texas Antitrust Act when it...more
In May 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 5–4 decision in Apple v. Pepper, one of the Court's most significant antitrust rulings of the last several years. In a majority opinion authored by Justice Kavanaugh, the Court...more
6/5/2019
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Appeals ,
Apple Inc v Pepper ,
Class Action ,
Direct Purchasers ,
Dismissals ,
Internet Retailers ,
iPhone ,
Mobile Apps ,
Monopolization ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS
The Federal Trade Commission, by a 3-2 party-line vote, has settled a vertical merger challenge in exchange for the merging companies' behavioral commitments. The decision and Commissioner statements signal tension for FTC...more
The Trump Administration leadership at the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission have announced reforms regarding merger reviews. This Jones Day White Paper reviews these reforms and their strategic...more
1/15/2019
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discovery ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Privilege Logs ,
Trump Administration
A federal district court has ordered a defendant in private antitrust litigation to divest a manufacturing plant following a competitor's merger challenge. Although the decision is certain to be appealed, it may embolden...more
The Situation: Between 2013 and 2017, the average length of a U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") Antitrust Division merger review increased 65 percent to 10.8 months.
The Response: DOJ announced reforms to improve...more
10/4/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Letters of Request ,
Mergers ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Subpoenas ,
Third-Party ,
Transparency
After eighteen months of investigation and litigation, a federal district court has rejected the Justice Department's challenge to AT&T's $108 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc. Although the government could appeal, the...more
The Situation: The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") recently published a blog post reminding merging parties to avoid creating antitrust liability through the exchange of competitively sensitive information during merger...more
4/27/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Contractual Safeguards ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Due Diligence ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Information Sharing ,
Mergers ,
Sensitive Business Information ,
Sherman Act
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced product safety priorities for 2018. A key priority is for the Commission to work towards the introduction of a General Safety provision within the...more
The Situation: The U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division ("DOJ") has adopted new terms in recent consent decrees that enhance DOJ's ability to enforce its settlements, most importantly by lowering the evidentiary...more
2/12/2018
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Burden of Proof ,
CFIUS ,
Consent Decrees ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Evidentiary Standards ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fee-Shifting ,
Mergers
The Background: Since 1941, performing rights organizations ("PROs"), which pool the copyrights held by a work's composer, songwriter, and publisher and collectively license those rights to music users, have been subject to...more
2/7/2018
/ Antitrust Division ,
ASCAP ,
BMI ,
Consent Decrees ,
Copyright ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Licensing Rights ,
Music Industry ,
Public Performance Rights ,
Publishing Copyrights ,
Sound Recording Copyrights
The Situation: Following consumer complaints, the Australian Competition and Consumer Regulator ("ACCC") has released a report reminding airlines of obligations when dealing with the flying public.
Looking Ahead: The ACCC...more
In Short - The Situation: Democrats have proposed legislation that would make it easier for antitrust agencies to challenge mergers. - The Background: This announcement followed a proposal made in August, known as the "Better...more
Many states have prohibitions on price gouging that go into effect during states of emergency. In this hurricane season, seven U.S. states and territories have declared emergencies.
The Impact: Although hurricanes often...more
9/12/2017
/ Criminal Prosecution ,
Fines ,
Gas Stations ,
Grocery Stores ,
Hurricane Harvey ,
Hurricane Irma ,
Price Gouging ,
Retail Market ,
State and Local Government ,
State Attorneys ,
State of Emergency ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
A number of Democrats in Congress have proposed to revamp U.S. antitrust law with a "Better Deal" economic plan. The proposed legislation takes aim at large corporations and includes measures that are at odds with decades of...more
The Federal Trade Commission staff have completed a new study evaluating its process for designing and implementing merger remedies and the success of the remedies it has imposed in the past. Its report—"The FTC's Merger...more