DAMITT has observed an across-the-board increase in the average duration of significant EU Merger investigations: Phase I remedy cases resolved in Q1 2021 averaged 10.5 months; while Phase II investigations averaged 17.3...more
The Supreme Court has ruled that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) does not have authority under Section 13(b) of the FTC Act to seek disgorgement or restitution from defendants. The agency has increasingly relied on this...more
Key Takeaways The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), with the support of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), has announced that it is temporarily suspending the grant of Early Termination of the...more
The Dechert Antitrust Merger Investigation Timing Tracker (DAMITT) is a quarterly release from Dechert LLP’s Antitrust/Competition practice reporting on trends in significant merger control investigations in the United States...more
2/5/2021
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Biden Administration ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Controls ,
Monopolization ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
UK Brexit
On February 1, 2021, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced in the Federal Register that the dollar-based thresholds applicable to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (“HSR”) premerger notification program will be lowered...more
The Dechert Antitrust Merger Investigation Timing Tracker (DAMITT) is a quarterly release from Dechert LLP reporting on trends in significant merger control investigations in the United States (U.S.) and European Union...more
10/29/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
EU Merger Directive ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Joe Biden ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Trump Administration ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
United States
The Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (HSR Act) is a procedural statute that requires parties to notify the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) of proposed acquisitions that exceed certain thresholds. After...more
Key Takeaways:
- FTC commissioners have seven year terms and cannot be removed for political or policy reasons.
- Absent a resignation, Republican commissioners will retain control of the FTC until 2023.
- Companies should...more
....The Dechert Antitrust Merger Investigation Timing Tracker (DAMITT) is a quarterly release from Dechert LLP reporting on trends in significant merger control investigations in the United States (U.S.) and European Union...more
7/25/2020
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
EU Merger Directive ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Health Care Providers ,
Merger Controls ,
Merger Remedies ,
Mergers ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Phase II ,
Popular ,
Vertical Mergers
The final Vertical Merger Guidelines issued on June 30, 2020 provide guidance to the business and legal communities on how the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) currently analyze the...more
7/14/2020
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Diagonal Mergers ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Guidelines ,
Merger Remedies ,
Mergers ,
Mergers of Complements ,
New Guidance ,
Safe Harbors ,
Vertical Mergers
On April 8, 2020, Judge Leonard Stark of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware denied an injunction requested by the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) to block Sabre Corp.’s $360...more
The global COVID-19 pandemic has changed how merger enforcement regimes around the world are currently reviewing proposed transactions. Two weeks into the new environment, we now have a body of experience from which to assess...more
4/1/2020
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
United States
Efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic or to respond to related supply shocks or other collateral consequences may give companies reason to collaborate with competitors in ways that could benefit the public, but which...more
3/31/2020
/ Antitrust Exemption ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Collaboration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Health and Safety ,
Popular ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Risk Assessment ,
State of Emergency
On January 27, 2020, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") announced in the Federal Register that the dollar-based thresholds applicable to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (“HSR”) premerger notification program will be raised about...more
1/29/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Board of Directors ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Corporate Officers ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Mergers ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Size of Persons Test ,
Size of Transaction Test ,
The Clayton Act ,
Threshold Requirements
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced on February 15, 2019, that the dollar-based thresholds applicable to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (“HSR”) premerger notification program will be raised about 6.6 percent from the...more
2/19/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Requirements ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Mergers ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Section 8 ,
Size of Persons Test ,
Size of Transaction Test ,
The Clayton Act ,
Threshold Requirements
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently settled enforcement actions against four companies accused of misleading consumers about their participation in the European Union-United States Privacy Shield framework, which...more
10/11/2018
/ Consent Order ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU-US Privacy Shield ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
International Data Transfers ,
Misleading Statements ,
Privacy Laws ,
Registration Requirement ,
Section 5 ,
Self-Certification ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced on January 26, 2018, that the dollar-based thresholds applicable to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (“HSR”) premerger notification program will be raised about 4.4 percent from the...more
1/29/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Mergers ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Size of Transaction Test ,
The Clayton Act ,
Threshold Requirements
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced on January 19, 2017 that the dollar-based thresholds applicable to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (“HSR”) premerger notification program will be raised about 3.3 percent from the...more
1/27/2017
/ Acquisitions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Mergers ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Size of Transaction Test ,
The Clayton Act ,
Threshold Requirements
In an era of robust merger enforcement by the U.S. antitrust agencies, opportunities abound for private equity firms to acquire divested businesses for value. These acquisitions of divested businesses are increasingly subject...more
10/7/2016
/ Acquisitions ,
Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Divestiture ,
Divestment ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Requirements ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Investigations ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity Firms ,
Schedule 13D ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
- The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) required divestitures in many local markets in Ahold/Delhaize despite the fact that there were between three and six remaining competitors (i.e., 4-to-3, 5-to-4, 6-to-5, and 7-to-6...more
Key Points:
The FTC is raising the maximum civil penalty that may be imposed for certain violations from $16,000 to $40,000.
For HSR Act violations, where penalties may be imposed for each day the person is in...more
7/1/2016
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The European Commission announced an agreement in principle on a new framework for data transfers to replace the “Safe Harbor” arrangement that had governed data flows between the United States and Europe for the past 15...more
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced on January 21, 2016 that the dollar-based thresholds applicable to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (“HSR”) premerger notification program will be raised about 2.5 percent from the...more
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced on January 15, 2015 that the dollar-based thresholds applicable to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (“HSR”) premerger notification program will be raised less than one percent from the...more
The Commission revised its guidelines for interpreting and complying with the Robinson-Patman Act to account for changes in technology and methods of marketing that have taken place since the last revision in 1990, including...more