During antitrust review between M&A signing and closing, HSR rules restrict an acquiror from beginning to control the target's business....more
1/27/2025
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Competition ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fines ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Agreements ,
Oil & Gas
As expected, the final guidelines expand the types of transactions that may receive heightened scrutiny or result in a merger challenge....more
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) recently introduced proposed revisions to the existing merger guidelines. The new draft guidelines, if enacted in a form similar...more
In Short -
The Situation: In parallel federal actions, the Department of Justice ("DOJ"), Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC"), and Federal Trade Commission ("FTC")...more
7/24/2023
/ CFTC ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Market Manipulation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud
What Is the FTC's New "Prior Approval" Policy? At the end of an FTC investigation into the competitive impact of a merger, the agency may (i) take no action (allowing the parties to close), (ii) challenge the transaction...more
11/4/2021
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Merger Controls ,
Policy Management ,
Policy Statement ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Approval ,
Regulatory Reform
Expansion of FTC's Interpretation of Its Antitrust Enforcement Authority -The Commission majority has reinvigorated a longstanding but dormant debate about the bounds of the FTC's authority under Section 5 of the FTC Act....more
The Federal Trade Commission, by a 3-2 party-line vote, has settled a vertical merger challenge in exchange for the merging companies' behavioral commitments. The decision and Commissioner statements signal tension for FTC...more
The Trump Administration leadership at the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission have announced reforms regarding merger reviews. This Jones Day White Paper reviews these reforms and their strategic...more
1/15/2019
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discovery ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Privilege Logs ,
Trump Administration
The Situation: Between 2013 and 2017, the average length of a U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") Antitrust Division merger review increased 65 percent to 10.8 months.
The Response: DOJ announced reforms to improve...more
10/4/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Letters of Request ,
Mergers ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Subpoenas ,
Third-Party ,
Transparency
The Situation: The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") recently published a blog post reminding merging parties to avoid creating antitrust liability through the exchange of competitively sensitive information during merger...more
4/27/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Contractual Safeguards ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Due Diligence ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Information Sharing ,
Mergers ,
Sensitive Business Information ,
Sherman Act
The Situation: The U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division ("DOJ") has adopted new terms in recent consent decrees that enhance DOJ's ability to enforce its settlements, most importantly by lowering the evidentiary...more
2/12/2018
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Burden of Proof ,
CFIUS ,
Consent Decrees ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Evidentiary Standards ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fee-Shifting ,
Mergers
In Short - The Situation: Democrats have proposed legislation that would make it easier for antitrust agencies to challenge mergers. - The Background: This announcement followed a proposal made in August, known as the "Better...more
The Federal Trade Commission staff have completed a new study evaluating its process for designing and implementing merger remedies and the success of the remedies it has imposed in the past. Its report—"The FTC's Merger...more