On July 8, in the wake of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) designation of July as “Made in the USA” (MUSA) Month, the FTC issued warning letters to four companies suspected of violating the FTC’s Made in USA Labeling Rule...more
On June 2, the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, agreed to its first settlement of a merger challenged under the new administration, less than one week after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) entered into its first...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has agreed to accept the new administration's first settlement of a merger-enforcement challenge. The settlement includes the divestiture of three businesses and will allow Synopsys, Inc. to...more
6/3/2025
/ Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Divestiture ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Controls ,
Popular ,
Settlement ,
Software ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
At the end of the Biden administration, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a settlement with private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson, and Stowe, and several of its affiliates (Welsh Carson), resolving what the...more
Practically on the eve of the inauguration, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (DOJ), jointly issued antitrust guidelines for business activities affecting workers. The FTC's...more
1/17/2025
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employees ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the annual changes to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act notification thresholds. The HSR Act requires all persons contemplating certain mergers or acquisitions that meet or exceed...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted along party lines (3 to 2) to ban all worker noncompetition provisions. The final rule applies to all employees, including senior executives, and will become effective 120 days after...more
4/25/2024
/ Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the annual changes to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act notification thresholds. The HSR Act requires all persons contemplating certain mergers or acquisitions, which meet or exceed...more
1/26/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Private Equity ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Statutory Violations ,
The Clayton Act ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Venture Capital
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ), Antitrust Division announced that they will hold three workshops regarding their jointly issued Draft Merger Guidelines. The first virtual workshop will be...more
8/30/2023
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Controls ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform
The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) recent multipronged challenge to EQT Corporation’s acquisition from the Quantum Energy Partners private equity investment group “marks the FTC’s first case in 40 years that enforces...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
8/4/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Comment Period ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Draft Guidance ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Horizontal Merger Guidelines ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
NAICS ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Vertical Mergers
On November 10, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a “Policy Statement Regarding the Scope of Unfair Methods of Competition Under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act” (Policy Statement). The Policy Statement...more
The FTC is increasingly focused on competition in gasoline and fuel markets and has “redoubl[ed] its commitment” to “aggressive antitrust enforcement” in these areas. The most recent example of this renewed commitment came...more
On July 9, President Biden signed an executive order on promoting competition in the American economy, listing broad priorities for antitrust enforcement. In conjunction with this order, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and...more
7/16/2021
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Executive Orders ,
FCC ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Mergers ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
USDA ,
Vertical Mergers
On June 28, while both congressional bodies continue to introduce and consider numerous legislative proposals to “reform” and amend the existing legal analytical framework, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia...more
Last week the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) held its first open Commission meeting in over 20 years. Chair Lina Khan led the meeting and promised future open meetings of the Commission on a “regular” basis....more
On June 15, the U.S. Senate approved Lina Khan’s nomination as a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by a 69-28 vote. Her confirmation assured that the Democrats would hold a 3-2 majority of commissioners....more
Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the annual changes to the thresholds for Sections 7A (Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act) and 8 (interlocking directors) of the Clayton Act. For only the...more
2/3/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Mergers ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Section 8 ,
Size of Persons Test ,
Size of Transaction Test ,
The Clayton Act ,
Threshold Requirements