This new stance, however, does not signal unchecked dealmaking for transacting parties. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) are simultaneously emphasizing that robust, evidence-based enforcement...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced increases to the notification thresholds and premerger filing fees under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Antitrust Improvements Act, which requires premerger notification of...more
Democratic Commissioners Swung for the Fences, but FTC Settles for Unanimous Revisions, Still Increasing Burden on Filers -
On October 10, 2024, all five Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) Commissioners, with concurrence...more
11/13/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
New Rules ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Required Forms ,
Section 8 ,
The Clayton Act
On August 5, 2024, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) filed a rare[1] gun jumping[2] civil lawsuit and proposed settlement in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against Legends...more
8/8/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Settlement ,
Sherman Act
The FTC revises the jurisdictional and filing fee thresholds annually based on the change in gross national product. The FTC also revises filing fees annually based on changes to the consumer price index under Division GG of...more
1/25/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Size of Persons Test ,
Size of Transaction Test ,
Threshold Requirements
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) (collectively, the Agencies) recently issued the Hart-Scott-Rodino Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2022 (the Report). Covering the...more
On September 28, 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched a civil suit against a benchmarking service provider that signals a crack-down on benchmarking involving the exchange of competitively sensitive information. ...more
10/13/2023
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Benchmarking ,
Competition ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Information Sharing ,
Sherman Act ,
Third-Party ,
Third-Party Service Provider
The U.S. federal government is facing a possible shutdown beginning this Sunday, October 1, 2023. Congress has until September 30, which marks the end of the fiscal year, to enact appropriations for government agencies and...more
10/2/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
CFIUS ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Foreign Investment ,
Funding ,
Government Shutdown ,
Investment ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
U.S. Treasury
On July 19, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice Antitrust Division announced sweeping changes to how they review deals. The agencies published new “Merger Guidelines” that identify the competition...more
7/24/2023
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Horizontal Merger Guidelines ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Controls ,
Regulatory Reform
As we look ahead to the second half of 2023, the outlook for M&A remains complex. In the six months to the end of June, global deal value stood at USD1.2 trillion, around one-third of last year’s annual total.
...more
On June 27, 2023, the FTC announced a notice of proposed amendments to the premerger filing requirements under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act....more
This newsletter is a summary of the antitrust developments we think are most interesting to your business. Vivian Cao, partner at Allen & Overy Lang Yue, is our editor this month....more
3/7/2023
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Bid Rigging ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Merger Controls ,
Popular ,
Resale Price Maintenance (RPM) ,
State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 includes significant changes affecting large M&A transactions and deals involving certain foreign entities. The Act would also give state attorneys general additional control over...more
The DOJ Antitrust Division is amplifying the Biden Administration’s whole-of-government approach to antitrust enforcement by seeking cooperation from enforcers outside the U.S....more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced increases to the notification thresholds under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Antitrust Improvements Act, which requires pre-merger notification of certain transactions to the FTC...more
Pandemic-induced lull in M&A activity drove down the number of reportable transactions by 21.6% in FY2020, though preliminary monthly figures for FY2021 have quickly climbed and surpassed pre-pandemic levels.
...more
This newsletter is a summary of the antitrust developments we think are most interesting to your business. Noah Brumfield, partner based in Washington, D.C. and Silicon Valley, is our editor this month (learn more about Noah...more