Antitrust issues have cut deeply into the corporate landscape, and this year is shaping up for more of the same. Generative artificial intelligence, merger enforcement, and trial risks stand out as three of the most important...more
On December 18, 2023, The Federal Trade Commission and Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice concluded a nearly two-year process of updating both the horizontal and vertical merger guidelines with the release of the...more
In prior posts, we discussed the draft, updated merger guidelines that had been issued by the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice (sometimes referred to as the “Agencies”) in July of last year. At that...more
On December 18, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) (collectively, the “Agencies”) published the long-awaited final 2023 Merger Guidelines. The 2023 Merger Guidelines are informed...more
It has been two years since President Biden signed a far-reaching, industry-spanning Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy. The Executive Order outlined a “whole-of-government” approach to...more
Antitrust enforcers remained active across the globe, with the announcement by the FTC and DOJ of proposed guidelines that have an emphasis on tech mergers in the United States, and several investigations of major tech deals...more
The U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (DOJ), and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (and together, the “Agencies”) have released long-anticipated draft merger guidelines (the “2023 Draft Guidelines”) that...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 July 19, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) (collectively, the Agencies) released the long-anticipated updated draft Merger Guidelines1 (the Guidelines) for a...more
On July 18, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released draft updates to their merger guidelines that reflect considerable shifts in how the DOJ and FTC review horizontal and...more
After months of delays, on 19 July 2023, the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division and Federal Trade Commission (collectively, the Agencies) released for public comment a draft update of their Merger...more
On July 19, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) (each an Agency, and collectively, the Agencies) released a long-awaited draft version of revised Merger...more
On July 19, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice released a draft update of the Merger Guidelines. The draft Guidelines describe how the agencies “review...mergers and acquisitions to determine...more
On July 19, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (together, the “Agencies”) announced new draft Merger Guidelines (“Draft Guidelines”), which detail the analysis the Agencies will...more
Today the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice released a proposed set of new Horizontal Merger Guidelines, to replace the current version adopted in 2010. The proposed Guidelines...more
Health care companies are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) to create innovations, set prices, and compete with rivals. At the same time, federal and state antitrust enforcers are finding new ways to apply...more
UNITED STATES - Wilson Resigns as FTC Commissioner - On February 14, the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) lone Republican commissioner, Christine Wilson, announced that she was resigning. Wilson explained her decision...more
2022 saw a major uptick in antitrust scrutiny and enforcement, primarily related to vertical transactions by large technology companies. Meta/Within, Microsoft/Activision, and Broadcom/VMware (among others) faced resistance...more
On 3 February 2023 the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it is withdrawing from certain policy statements related to antitrust enforcement in healthcare. Specifically, DOJ is withdrawing “safe harbors” for...more
In 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order directing antitrust enforcers to make sure that health care would be an area of emphasis for antitrust enforcement, and in 2022 they did. Federal regulators brought several...more
Key Takeaways - The antitrust agencies have lost three litigated merger challenges in less than one month. The DOJ Antitrust Division lost challenges to UnitedHealth/Change and U.S. Sugar/Imperial Sugar while the FTC lost...more
On Sept. 13, Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter delivered remarks at the Georgetown Antitrust Law Symposium, largely focusing on merger control enforcement at the Department of Justice (DOJ) under his...more
On July 9, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy (the “EO”). The EO casts a wide net, encompassing many industries, including health care....more
On July 9, 2021, President Joe Biden announced a broad executive order (the “Order”) intended to boost what it characterizes as stagnant competition across the U.S. economy. The Order, among other things, encourages the...more
The Comisión Federal de Competencia's new guidelines clarify notification requirements for joint ventures and the "failing firm" defense. Newly revised merger control guidelines ("Guidelines") from the Comisión Federal de...more