This morning the European Commission (EC) moved to unwind and block Illumina’s $7.1 billion acquisition of Grail. Illumina announced that it intends to appeal the decision. This development comes on the heels of Illumina’s...more
FTC Suit Aspires to Chill M&A-Based Growth by Larger Tech Firms -
Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan has consistently criticized past FTC leadership for being too lenient with Big Tech M&A activity, and for not...more
After months of partisan deadlock, this week Georgetown law professor and privacy scholar Alvaro M. Bedoya was confirmed by the Senate to serve as a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Bedoya’s confirmation gives...more
This alert summarizes the current state of trade measures and restrictions against both Russia and Belarus, following our last update on February 25, 2022....more
3/9/2022
/ Aircraft ,
Belarus ,
Biden Administration ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
ECCNs ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Entity List ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
General Licenses ,
Imports ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
U.S. Commerce Department
The United States government, in partnership with allies and partners, issued new and expanded sanctions and trade controls in response to Russia’s continued invasion into Ukraine. These measures followed the sanctions that...more
In a departure from past enforcement priorities, the Federal Trade Commission has challenged three vertical mergers over the past year, leading the parties to abandon two of the three deals...more
The United States government, in coordination with the UK and EU, has imposed a round of targeted measures in what could be the first of a series of escalations in response to Russia’s recent actions along the Ukraine...more
2/23/2022
/ Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Executive Orders ,
Exports ,
Financial Institutions ,
General Licenses ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Secondary Markets ,
Sovereign Debt ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK ,
Ukraine
The Federal Trade Commission announced its 2022 adjustments to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) thresholds. These thresholds determine which mergers and acquisitions must be reported to United States federal antitrust agencies for...more
Earlier this week, the Federal Trade Commission officially reinstated the practice of including “prior approval” requirements in consent orders settling merger investigation cases by the Commission (the 2021 Statement), the...more
On October 15, 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued tailored sanctions compliance guidance for those operating in the virtual currency industry, including technology...more
10/21/2021
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Digital Currency ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
New Guidance ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Risk Assessment ,
SDN List ,
Strict Liability ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Virtual Currency
On October 5, 2021, the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a final rule amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to include new controls on genetic editing software and...more
10/6/2021
/ Biotechnology ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
CFIUS ,
Commerce Control List ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Final Rules ,
Foreign Investment ,
Life Sciences ,
Research and Development ,
Software
On September 28, 2021, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a blog post outlining the agency’s plans to expand and purportedly strengthen its process for in-depth investigations of transactions (known as “Second...more
On September 10, 2021, a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that Fortnite developer Epic Games (Epic) failed to adequately prove its antitrust allegations relating to...more
The annual adjustment of the dollar thresholds for pre-acquisition filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act will take effect on March 4, 2021. All transactions closing on or after the effective date will be governed by the new...more
2/4/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Size of Persons Test ,
Threshold Requirements
The annual adjustment of the dollar thresholds for pre-acquisition filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act will take effect February 27. All transactions closing on or after the effective date will be governed by the new...more
1/29/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Size of Persons Test ,
Threshold Requirements
The annual adjustment of the dollar thresholds for pre-acquisition filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act will take effect late March. All transactions closing on or after the effective date will be governed by the new...more
2/20/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Filing Requirements ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Size of Persons Test ,
Size of Transaction Test ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Voting Securities
The shadow cast over the technology industry by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. has been growing in recent years, resulting in the blocking of various high-profile technology deals—including Broadcom’s...more
8/23/2018
/ CFIUS ,
Covered Transactions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Declaration ,
Emerging Technology Companies ,
Export Controls ,
Filing Fees ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Investors ,
Jurisdiction ,
Life Sciences ,
National Security ,
National Security Review Proceedings ,
Personal Data ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration
The annual adjustment of the dollar thresholds for pre-acquisition filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act will take effect at the beginning of March. All transactions closing on or after the effective...more
The annual adjustment of the dollar thresholds for pre-acquisition filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act will take effect the end of February. All transactions closing on or after the effective date will be governed by the...more
The annual adjustment of the dollar thresholds for pre-acquisition filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act will take effect the end of February. All transactions closing on or after the effective date will be governed by the...more
A recent story in the Bay Area legal newspaper The Recorder had this headline: “Former Bazaarvoice CEO Takes Stand to Explain Damning Email.” That is not the kind of media attention that any CEO likes to have or the way he or...more
The annual adjustment of the dollar thresholds for pre-acquisition filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act will take effect on February 11, 2013. All transactions closing on or after that date will be governed by the new...more