On February 26, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), alongside Attorneys General from eight states and the District of Columbia, initiated legal action to block Kroger’s $24.6 billion acquisition of Albertsons. The...more
On January 25, 2024 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued to block Novant Health (Novant) from acquiring two North Carolina hospitals, Lake Norman Regional Medical Center and Davis Regional Medical Center from Community...more
In the coming year, Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) Chair Lina Khan and Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division Jonathan Kanter are expected to continue to advance a more aggressive...more
The Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department jointly issued the 2023 Merger Guidelines on December 18, 2023, which describe the factors and frameworks the agencies will utilize when reviewing mergers and...more
On December 18, 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued the final version of new merger review guidelines (Merger Guidelines), five months after the agencies published a draft for...more
On December 18, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and Department of Justice (“DOJ”) jointly released their long-anticipated final 2023 Merger Guidelines after a notice and public comment period, during which they...more
In July, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) released a draft of proposed new merger guidelines, 18 months after FTC Chair Lina Khan and Assistant Attorney General...more
Agencies drastically revise Merger Guidelines and HSR process while withdrawing long-established antitrust healthcare guidance - The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ,...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) jointly issued new draft Merger Guidelines on July 19. The draft Merger Guidelines were created with the goal "to better reflect how the agencies...more
On July 19, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice Antitrust Division announced sweeping changes to how they review deals. The agencies published new “Merger Guidelines” that identify the competition...more
On July 14, 2023, signaling a continuing shift in its position on antitrust issues, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) followed the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and withdrew the Statements of Antitrust Enforcement Policy...more
Proposed FTC and DOJ Merger Guidelines Formalize Biden Administration’s Aggressive Vision for Merger Enforcement – Top Ten Takeaways - When losing, some players seek to change the rules. Others seek to change the playing...more
Key Points - U.S. antitrust regulators at the DOJ and FTC embarked on a joint review of merger enforcement by soliciting public input on modernizing federal merger guidelines. While public comments ran the gamut from...more
On 15 September 2021 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) held its third open meeting under the leadership of Chair Lina Khan. As expected, the Commissioners voted along party lines to rescind the Vertical Merger Guidelines...more
On 9 July 2021 President Biden signed a far-reaching executive order intended to promote competition in the American economy. The order targets perceived corporate consolidation and anticompetitive activity in the labor,...more
On 22 December 2020, on a divided vote, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or the Commission) issued a Commentary on Vertical Merger Enforcement (FTC Commentary) to provide “greater transparency to the public regarding its...more
The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (collectively, “Agencies”) recently released for public comment their much-anticipated draft Vertical Merger Guidelines (“Guidelines”) that purport to “outline...more
Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") and Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") issued draft Vertical Merger Guidelines. Vertical mergers combine two or more companies operating at different levels of a supply chain...more
On January 10, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) released for public comment draft Vertical Merger Guidelines. Vertical mergers are those that combine companies...more
The Situation:The U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") has sued to block a proposed acquisition of Aleris Corporation by Novelis Inc. In an unprecedented move, the parties and DOJ agreed to refer the "dispositive" issue of...more