The identification, investigation and removal of persons who serve as directors or officers of two competing companies (i.e., “horizontal interlocks”) is a significant component of the Biden Administration’s antitrust...more
On June 27, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) in collaboration with the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced a proposal to overhaul the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act premerger notification program. If adopted, the...more
On January 22, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published its adjusted reporting thresholds under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (HSR Act). The FTC revises the HSR Act thresholds...more
Participants in the renewable energy industry should be aware of antitrust and competition rules because renewable energy is no longer a nascent field. Europe generated almost 40% of its electricity from renewable sources in...more
Companies should take a proactive approach as US antitrust agencies continue to enforce Section 8 of the Clayton Act. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division (the...more
On August 16, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced an agreement with natural gas producer EQT Corporation (EQT) and private equity firm Quantum Energy Partners (Quantum) to resolve concerns stemming from alleged...more
In late March, attendees gathered in Washington, D.C., for the ABA Antitrust Law Section’s 71st Annual Spring Meeting, including officials from state, federal and international antitrust enforcement agencies. These enforcers...more
In March 2023, the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (DOJ) announced that five additional directors have resigned from four corporate boards in response to the DOJ’s efforts to enforce prohibitions against so-called...more
On March 9, 2023, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that five directors resigned from four separate corporate boards and that another corporation declined to exercise its board...more
On February 13, 2023, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)...more
HSR Notice Thresholds Have Increased. On January 26, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its revised annual threshold that determines whether companies may be required to notify federal antitrust authorities...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
On January 26, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published its adjusted reporting thresholds under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (HSR Act). The FTC revises the HSR Act thresholds...more
The new Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (the “HSR Act”) thresholds will go into effect on February 27, 2023 and will apply to all transactions closing on or after that date. As previewed in...more
FTC adjusts the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act size thresholds, raising the minimum size for reportable acquisitions to $111.4 million. On January 23, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced new jurisdictional thresholds...more
On 23 January 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the annual jurisdictional adjustments for premerger notification filings made pursuant to Section 7A of the Clayton Act, known as the Hart-Scott-Rodino...more
Key Points - The HSR Act requires parties that meet certain transaction size and other tests to file premerger notification forms for mergers and other transactions with both the Federal Trade Commission and Department of...more
In January 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) made three important announcements for M&A practitioners. This article summarizes the HSR Act’s requirements and reports on relevant developments in 2022....more
In April 2022, Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter, head of the US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, fired a warning shot to companies: “For too long, our Section 8 enforcement has essentially been limited to...more
In 2021, the Biden administration pledged to ramp up antitrust enforcement efforts through an executive order. The next year, the Department of Justice’s Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter announced the agency would...more
On October 19, 2022, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued a press release heralding the resignation of seven directors from ten companies’ boards of directors in response to the government’s...more
Back in April 2022, Assistant Attorney General (AAG) Jonathan Kanter hinted very strongly that the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) would be looking at Section 8 violations of the Clayton Act. That...more
The Antitrust Division announced last year that it intended to reinvigorate enforcement of Section 8 of the Clayton Act, which prohibits directors and officers serving simultaneously on the boards of competitors (with limited...more
Recent activity and statements from the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission signal that the federal agencies are likely to be more aggressive in pursuing enforcement against what they identify as...more
Recent scrutiny of interlocking directorates – when a person serves as an officer or board director of two competing corporations – by the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission...more