As the Trump administration’s antitrust landscape continues to develop, companies should stay alert to key changes in merger filing requirements, remedy expectations, agency personnel, and more. The Federal Trade Commission...more
6/13/2025
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Biden Administration ,
Buyers ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Divestiture ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Settlement ,
Trump Administration
JANUARY – MARCH 2025: KEY THEMES AND TAKEAWAYS -
UNITED STATES -
FTC Loses Vertical Challenge to Tempur Sealy/Mattress Firm
On July 2, 2024, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed suit in federal court seeking to block...more
5/6/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Big Tech ,
Competition ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Foreign Subsidies ,
Merger Controls ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Vertical Mergers
As the Trump administration’s antitrust landscape continues to develop, companies should stay alert to key changes in merger filing requirements, remedy expectations, agency personnel, and more. The Federal Trade Commission...more
5/5/2025
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Government Agencies ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trump Administration
As the Trump administration’s antitrust landscape continues to develop, companies should stay alert to key changes in merger filing requirements, remedy expectations, agency personnel, and more. Signs indicate we are entering...more
4/16/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Private Equity ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration
As the Trump administration’s approach to antitrust takes shape through political appointments, policy statements, speeches, and enforcement actions, our team is tracking the latest developments and will provide important...more
As the Trump administration’s approach to antitrust takes shape through political appointments, policy statements, speeches, and enforcement actions, our team is tracking new developments and will provide important updates on...more
IN THIS JANUARY 2025 ISSUE -
In the fourth quarter of 2024, US antitrust regulators continued their rigorous scrutiny of mergers and acquisitions. The US Department of Justice (DOJ), under the leadership of the outgoing...more
In the final week of the Biden administration, the antitrust enforcement agencies – the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) – released two policies potentially impacting labor markets. The...more
1/23/2025
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
NLRA ,
Policy Statement ,
Unions
The US antitrust regulators continued to aggressively challenge transactions and associated Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) violations during the third quarter of 2024. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) litigated two merger...more
11/1/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Competition Authorities ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
EUMR ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Requirements ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
United States
While they have long taken a back seat to federal merger reviews, US states are becoming increasingly involved in merger reviews, including potentially requiring premerger notifications on a broad scale. On July 24, 2024, the...more
8/9/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Healthcare ,
Joint Venture ,
Mergers ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State Attorneys General
UNITED STATES -
- Agencies Revisiting Consummated Mergers -
What’s old is new again, as agencies are increasingly scrutinizing consummated mergers from years past. In May 2024, the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Antitrust...more
7/29/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Competition ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Energy Sector ,
EU ,
EUMR ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Mergers ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
Request For Information ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
IN THIS FEBRUARY 2024 ISSUE -
UNITED STATES -
New Merger Guidelines Released -
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and US Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) issued their updated Merger Guidelines on...more
2/14/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
EUMR ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Mergers ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) ,
Vertical Mergers
UNITED STATES -
Proposed Merger Guidelines Outline Fundamental Change of Approach to Merger Investigation and Enforcement -
On July 19, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the US Department of Justice (DOJ)...more
10/27/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Competition ,
Enforcement ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Investigations ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
New Guidance ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
Mergers and acquisitions will continue to face strong headwinds at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) under new proposed Merger Guidelines released on July 19, 2023.
The Proposed...more
7/25/2023
/ Antitrust Division ,
Biden Administration ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
Proposed Guidance ,
Supply Chain ,
Vertical Mergers
The Federal Trade Commission and the US Department of Justice Antitrust Division have released their revised Merger Guidelines. Which industries will be most affected? What should companies be doing now to avoid regulatory...more
WHAT HAPPENED -
• Seven directors resigned from corporate boards following promises of enforcement of Clayton Act Section 8 (15 U.S.C. § 19) by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Antitrust Division (the Division), the...more
10/24/2022
/ Administrative Resignation ,
Antitrust Division ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Private Equity ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Section 8 ,
The Clayton Act
WHAT HAPPENED -
During a conference last week, Ryan Danks, Director of Civil Enforcement at the US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (DOJ), suggested that merging parties—not the antitrust enforcement...more
JANUARY – MARCH 2022: HIGHLIGHTS -
UNITED STATES -
• The US antitrust agencies continue with their aggressive merger enforcement posture. The agencies challenged four transactions this quarter, including multiple...more
5/6/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Investigations ,
Merger Controls ,
Merger Remedies ,
Mergers ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
OCTOBER – DECEMBER 2021:
HIGHLIGHTS UNITED STATES -
• Both antitrust agencies have now filled senior leadership positions, although the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) awaits the appointment of a fifth commissioner....more
APRIL – JUNE 2021: HIGHLIGHTS -
UNITED STATES -
- The premerger notification landscape continues to shift as filings reach another record high, and the US Congress contemplates increases to filing fees and New York...more
8/6/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Biden Administration ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Emerging Technology Companies ,
Enforcement ,
EU ,
EUMR ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Proposed Regulation ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
The DOJ Antitrust Division’s recent challenge to the United Technologies/Raytheon merger highlights a few key considerations for antitrust reviews of aerospace and defense industry transactions. The case is a useful...more
A recent business review letter issued by the US Department of Justice Antitrust Division to five pharmaceutical and medical/surgical distributors offers insights into the antitrust enforcers’ views on competitor...more
On March 24, 2020, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and US Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a Joint Antitrust Statement Regarding COVID-19. In this statement, the FTC and DOJ recognize that public health efforts in...more
With COVID-19-related closures rolling in daily, you may have questions about the operating status of the federal government’s antitrust enforcement agencies. Currently, the HSR review process does not seem to be...more
Last month, the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released updated Vertical Merger Guidelines in draft form. These guidelines provide a useful resource for aerospace and defense...more