The Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division secured its first win in a criminal enforcement of labor market antitrust violations on October 27, 2022, when nurse staffing company VDA OC pleaded guilty to violating...more
In April 2022, Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter, head of the US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, fired a warning shot to companies: “For too long, our Section 8 enforcement has essentially been limited to...more
On May 16, 2022, eight months after President Joe Biden announced his intention to nominate Alvaro Bedoya to serve as a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission, Bedoya was sworn in. The FTC includes five commissioners –...more
Nearly a year after the Supreme Court stripped the FTC of its ability to obtain equitable monetary relief under Section 13(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTCA) in AMG Capital Management LLC v. FTC, the Commission...more
The Department of Justice’s first criminal wage-fixing and no-poach cases ended in acquittals, but we don’t expect this will lessen the DOJ’s scrutiny on competition in labor markets....more
On March 2, 2022, Richard Powers, the deputy assistant attorney general of the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice, said that the division is prepared – for the first time in decades – to bring criminal charges...more
On March 2, 2022, Richard Powers, the deputy assistant attorney general of the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice, said that the division is prepared – for the first time in decades – to bring criminal charges...more
To strengthen enforcement, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are undertaking a review of the Horizontal Merger Guidelines, last revised by the Obama administration in 2010, and the...more
Basic ‘size-of-transaction’ threshold now $101 million -
The Hart-Scott-Rodino Act thresholds, which govern when mergers and acquisitions must be reported to the US Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission, will...more
General trends in tech M&A Hello, (virtual) world once again! Despite everyone’s efforts in 2021, including the rollout of vaccines and varying rounds of lockdowns and work-from-home mandates, a true “return to normal” for...more
General trends in life sciences M&A Although the COVID-19 pandemic that defined 2020 continued to shape much of the life sciences industry in 2021, the way that it did was markedly different. While 2020’s M&A landscape was...more
On July 9, President Joe Biden issued an executive order on “Promoting Competition in the American Economy.” With 72 initiatives and directives by more than a dozen federal agencies, the order seeks to aggressively “reduce...more
The US Supreme Court ruled last week that the Federal Trade Commission doesn’t have the authority to seek equitable monetary relief in federal court under Section 13(b) of the FTC Act in AMG Capital Management LLC v. FTC....more
Parties to transactions requiring filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act are already facing considerable headwinds from US President Joe Biden’s antitrust enforcement agencies on important substantive and procedural...more
Baseline HSR threshold now $92 million The Hart-Scott-Rodino Act requires that parties to certain transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, acquisitions of voting securities, and assets and minority investments, file...more
2/2/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Mergers ,
Section 8 ,
Size of Persons Test ,
Size of Transaction Test ,
The Clayton Act ,
Threshold Requirements
Covid-19 has made 2020 into a year like no other with ‘stay at home’ orders and working from home the new normal. Nonetheless, the tech and pharma industries continued to attract immense antitrust scrutiny, with daily reports...more
The US Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice announced proposed changes to the rules governing Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) filings that, if implemented, would significantly increase the number of transactions that...more
The US Department of Justice Antitrust Division issued a new Merger Remedies Manual on September 3 clarifying the analytical framework the Trump administration’s DOJ is using to evaluate remedies that may address competitive...more
Reaction to recent trial losses; focus of enforcement will remain on mergers between competitors -
On June 30, the US Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission published new Vertical Merger Guidelines...more
Even before the COVID-19 crisis, artificial intelligence and algorithms, particularly in the context of pricing, were a focus of the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. With the...more
COVID-19 has disrupted supply and demand for public health products and other essential goods and services. In response to surging demand, prices for many of these items have increased sharply. These increases have drawn...more
The US Department of Justice Antitrust Division and Federal Trade Commission issued a joint statement on Tuesday, March 24, making clear to the public that “firms, including competitors, can engage in procompetitive...more
Antitrust FAQs for Merging Parties -
What modifications have the FTC and DOJ made for transactions reportable under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act? Will timing to receive HSR clearance be impacted?...more
Basic threshold $94 million effective February 27 -
Filing thresholds under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act will increase 4.4%, effective February 27, 2020, based on the change in the US gross national product during 2019. The...more
1/30/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Size of Persons Test ,
Size of Transaction Test ,
Threshold Requirements
The Federal Trade Commission has promised vigorous antitrust enforcement in life sciences industries, with Chairman Joe Simons promising a "robust program to identify and stop anticompetitive conduct, especially in the...more