On January 28, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it had accepted a proposed settlement with office supply distributors Staples and Essendant in connection with Staples’ proposed $482.7 million acquisition...more
The Premerger Notification Office (PNO) of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently formalized a new position on Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (HSR Act) reporting obligations for certain not-for-profit, non-stock transactions. The...more
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
WHAT HAPPENED:
• On August 7, the FTC published a new Model Timing Agreement. Timing agreements are agreements between FTC staff and merging parties that outline the FTC’s expected timing for various events in order for it...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
The recent FTC decision in the Northrop Grumman / Orbital ATK matter has shed light on the agency’s vertical merger enforcement policy and outlined a path to antitrust merger clearance for the Aerospace and Defense industry....more
6/19/2018
/ Aerospace ,
Antitrust Division ,
Consent Decrees ,
Defense Sector ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Divestiture ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Supply Chain ,
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
The US Federal Trade Commission recently announced increased thresholds for the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 and for determining whether parties trigger the prohibition against interlocking directors...more
The FTC’s recent consent agreement addressing concerns regarding Emerson Electric Co.’s (Emerson) acquisition of Pentair Plc (Pentair) demonstrates a continued focus on whether transactions will reduce the incentive for...more
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
Transactions that meet the Hart-Scott-Rodino thresholds for notification must be reported to the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and Department of Justice. Where a notified transaction raises competition concerns, the...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced several antitrust enforcement actions in advance of the inauguration of President Trump, including settlements for...more
Pursuant to the amendments passed by the US Congress in 2000, the FTC announced revised thresholds for HSR pre-merger notifications on January 19, 2017. These increased thresholds will become effective 30 days following...more
Recent Enforcement Trends in Divestiture Packages -
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division have been actively challenging mergers and acquisitions (M&A) across a...more
8/9/2016
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Divestiture ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Joint Venture ,
Mergers ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Price Discrimination
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
In Depth -
On April 12, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a joint statement to explain their “standard of review under the antitrust statutes of proposed transactions...more
Notification Threshold Adjustments -
Pursuant to the amendments passed by Congress in 2000, the FTC announced revised thresholds for HSR pre-merger notifications on January 21, 2016. These increased thresholds will...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a settlement on August 24, 2015, with Third Point Funds for failing to file a notification under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (HSR Act) in connection with the...more
On March 18, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ordered Par Petroleum Corporation to terminate its storage and throughput rights at a key gasoline terminal in Hawaii. This action will settle FTC charges seeking to...more
On January 30, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a settlement of its investigation into Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.’s (Sun) acquisition of Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. (Ranbaxy) from Daiichi Sankyo Co.,...more
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced increased thresholds for the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR) and 2015 thresholds for determining whether parties trigger the prohibition...more
Aerospace and defense contractors engage in a wide range of mergers, acquisitions and joint venture transactions. Like all companies, aerospace and defense contractors need to be sensitive to antitrust considerations that...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and United States Department of Justice (DOJ) hosted a workshop on June 23, 2014 discussing the law and economics of “conditional pricing” programs. Most panelists were academics, including...more
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced higher reporting thresholds for pre-merger notifications filed on or after February 24, 2014....more