On December 18, 2023, the U.S. antitrust enforcers, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) (collectively, the “Agencies”), issued their final Merger Guidelines...more
12/22/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
New Guidance ,
Sherman Act ,
The Clayton Act ,
Vertical Mergers
On November 10, 2022, the US Federal Trade Commission issued a new Policy Statement indicating that the current Commission plans to expand its use of Section 5 of the FTC Act. Such an expansion would constitute a significant...more
Recent actions by the Biden administration, including the Treasury Department’s report on the State of Labor Market Competition in the U.S. Economy, the Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Labor (“DOL”) and...more
4/13/2022
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Biden Administration ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Enforcement ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
No-Poaching ,
Project Labor Agreements ,
Sherman Act ,
Wage-Fixing
Agreements between companies not to solicit or to hire each other’s employees (“no poach agreements”) have been in antitrust enforcers’ crosshairs for several years now. In 2016, the DOJ and the FTC released their joint...more
On February 18, 2021, the Fourth Circuit affirmed the first court-ordered divestiture arising from a privately litigated merger challenge. The Court also upheld a $36 million damages award (post-trebling) in favor of the...more
On Tuesday, June 30, the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission issued new Vertical Merger Guidelines (the “Guidelines”). Vertical mergers involve the combination of firms operating at...more
On Friday, January 10, the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission issued new guidelines for the agencies’ review of vertical mergers. Vertical mergers involve the combination of firms...more
1/22/2020
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Comment Period ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
New Guidance ,
Public Comment ,
Supply Chain ,
Vertical Mergers