What the final days of the Biden administration portend for private equity enforcement in Trump 2.0 -
During the final days of the Biden administration, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the...more
2/14/2025
/ Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Private Equity
In the US, the election of Donald Trump for a second term has significant implications for antitrust enforcement at the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). New...more
The Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act thresholds, which determine whether mergers and acquisitions must be reported to the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC), will increase by nearly 6% in February...more
1/15/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Size of Persons Test ,
Size of Transaction Test
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced significant changes to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) premerger notification rules – including changes to the HSR form and associated...more
On October 10, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a unanimous 5-0 vote to finalize changes to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) premerger notification program, including changes to the HSR form and associated...more
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a complaint and proposed consent decree alleging that Legends Hospitality Parent Holdings prematurely acquired beneficial ownership – often referred to as “gun jumping” – in connection...more
Over the last eight months, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has focused on what it characterizes as “improper” Orange Book listings and the impacts of such listings on generic entry....more
2023’s much-discussed downturn in mergers & acquisitions – with global M&A volume and value down 6% and 17%, respectively, from 2022 – was largely driven by the slowdown in the tech sector, with global tech M&A volumes down...more
Cross-border M&A activity in 2023 was impacted by heightened geopolitical conflicts, high inflation and interest rates, and increased regulatory pressures as the global economy remained clouded by looming recession fears....more
In a subdued year for global M&A, deal-making in the life sciences industry came in waves, with a busy fourth quarter generating cautious optimism heading into 2024. While the year saw an overall decline in M&A activity (down...more
The Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act thresholds that govern which mergers & acquisitions must be reported to the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will increase slightly more than 7% in February...more
As a capstone on the Biden administration’s aggressive 2023 antitrust enforcement, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) jointly issued revised Merger Guidelines before the holidays, replacing the...more
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent letters on November 7, 2023, accusing 10 companies of improperly listing drug delivery device patents in the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Orange Book, stating that the FTC...more
In the wake of major bank failures in the US, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has signaled that it plans to step up antitrust enforcement of bank mergers. In June 2023, the DOJ’s Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust...more
The Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), the European Union’s new screening tool for third-country subsidies, introduces a novel and additional layer of scrutiny in public procurement. Companies that take part in sizeable...more
The European Union’s new screening tool for third-country subsidies introduces a novel form of mergers & acquisitions scrutiny. Companies worldwide need to account for timing and execution risks arising from this system when...more
On July 19, 2023, the US Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission released draft revised merger guidelines in an effort to support the Biden administration’s aggressive antitrust enforcement agenda....more
On June 27, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a proposal for a radical overhaul to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) premerger notification program that, if adopted, would dramatically increase costs, burden and...more
The European Union’s top court recently confirmed that an M&A transaction that does not require mandatory pre-merger authorization may be investigated post-merger on suspicion that the transaction involved an ‘abuse’ of the...more
The Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act thresholds, which govern when acquisitions must be reported to the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission, will increase slightly more than 10% in February 2023. The minimum...more
Tech M&A in 2022 was a tale of two halves. The year started off with a bang, with mega-deals such as Microsoft’s pending $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of Twitter and...more
Although 2022 saw a general decline in M&A activity in the life sciences industry compared to 2021’s frenetic pace (when deal volume was up 52% from 2020), life sciences deal flow in 2022 on balance remained strong despite...more
On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission published a proposed rule that would categorically ban noncompete agreements between employers and a broad class of “workers,” including independent contractors and unpaid...more
1/24/2023
/ Comment Period ,
Contract Terms ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Section 5 ,
Unfair Competition
On December 29, 2022, President Joe Biden signed a funding bill into law that includes provisions that significantly change the filing fees for mergers & acquisitions notifiable under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act.
For...more
On October 31, the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice (DOJ) delivered on its promise to pursue criminal enforcement of Section 2 of the Sherman Act when it secured a guilty plea from a highway paving...more