United States -
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) faced new issues this quarter with the unprecedented challenges brought about by the COVID-19 global pandemic. In March, the agencies made...more
The US antitrust regulators continue to challenge consummated transactions. On January 3, 2020, the FTC filed an administrative complaint against Axon Enterprise, Inc., challenging its consummated acquisition of VieVu, a...more
1/20/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements
For the first time since the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) published non-horizontal merger guidelines in 1984, the DOJ and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued updated Vertical Merger Guidelines to explain...more
1/15/2020
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Comment Period ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Draft Guidance ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Information Sharing ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Public Comment ,
Supply Chain ,
Vertical Mergers
Three recent antitrust merger reviews involving nascent competition demonstrate enforcers are paying close attention to acquisitions by industry leaders of emerging, but early-stage competitors. The US antitrust agencies have...more
The US agencies continue to be aggressive and have blocked transactions or required significant remedies during the second quarter. The agencies cleared three mergers where divestitures were required. In the face of Federal...more
8/28/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
French Competition Authority ,
Institutional Investors ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Sherman Act
Yesterday, September 24, 2018, Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim announced a series of reforms with the express goal to resolve most merger investigations within six months of filing. The reforms seek to place the...more
The challenges that the government faces in litigating vertical mergers was illustrated in the DOJ’s recent loss in its challenge of AT&T’s proposed acquisition of Time Warner. The result provides guidance for how companies...more
6/20/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
AT&T ,
Bargaining Power ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Mergers ,
Telecommunications ,
Time Warner ,
Vertical Mergers
United States: January – March 2018 Update -
One year into the Trump administration, the US antitrust agencies are finally starting to implement their enforcement policies. Most notably, trial began in the US Department of...more
At the one year anniversary of the Trump administration, antitrust merger enforcement remains similar to the Obama administration, but it is still early to judge given the delays in antitrust appointments and given the DOJ’s...more
Cross Border M&A: The Impact of Brexit, the Trump Administration, and China’s Crackdown on Capital Flight
The combination of Brexit, the Trump Administration, and China’s tightening grasp on capital, appear to have created...more
12/6/2017
/ Acquisitions ,
Bilateral Investment Treaties ,
Capital Markets ,
China ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dispute Resolution ,
EU Data Protection Laws ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Health Care Providers ,
Insolvency ,
Mergers ,
NAFTA ,
Trump Administration ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Insolvency Act
McDermott’s Antitrust M&A Snapshot is a resource for in-house counsel and others who deal with antitrust M&A issues but are not faced with these issues on a daily basis. In each quarterly issue, we will provide concise...more
In Depth -
In the last year, the US antitrust regulators successfully challenged multiple transactions in court and forced companies to abandon several other transactions as a result of threatened enforcement actions....more