After President Trump’s election for a second term, those predicting where federal antitrust enforcement was headed had to contend with internal tensions in the Trump coalition that extend to economic policy more broadly:...more
Since their release, the federal antitrust agencies’ 2023 Merger Guidelines (2023 Guidelines) have faced significant criticism from many. There was speculation that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice...more
On December 18, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice jointly released their final Merger Guidelines. The Guidelines “identify the procedures and enforcement practices [the agencies] most often use...more
On July 19, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice released a draft update of the Merger Guidelines. The draft Guidelines describe how the agencies “review...mergers and acquisitions to determine...more
7/21/2023
/ Antitrust Division ,
Comment Period ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Guidance Update ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Vertical Mergers
As described in our Client Alert of July 6, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) proposed on June 27, 2023, a massive overhaul of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (HSR) pre-merger notification...more
7/19/2023
/ Antitrust Division ,
Comment Period ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
Notice Requirements ,
NPRM ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Required Forms
For the first time in 45 years, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice (DOJ) proposed on June 27, 2023, a massive overhaul of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (HSR) pre-merger...more
On May 16, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint in the Northern District of Illinois seeking to enjoin closing of Amgen Inc.’s proposed $28 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics. This is the first time...more
The Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) recently withdrew three sets of policy statements regarding the US antitrust agencies’ enforcement approach to conduct in the healthcare industry. These policy statements...more
The last week has seen crucial developments at the European Commission (EC) and U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding the antitrust review of the $7.1 billion proposed acquisition by Illumina (the leading supplier of...more
9/12/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Competition ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Jurisdiction ,
Member State ,
Mergers ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Vertical Agreement ,
Vertical Mergers
Since March 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) has challenged three proposed acquisitions based on vertical competitive concerns. The parties in two of those transactions - Nvidia/Arm and Lockheed...more
In an August 3 blog post, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a change to the FTC’s merger review process with potentially far-reaching effects. Emphasizing the agency’s constrained capacity resulting from a “tidal...more
8/17/2021
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Warning Letters
Although much attention recently has been focused upon debates in Congress, potential legislative changes to U.S. antitrust law are not limited to proposals at the federal level. Many states are considering changes to their...more
On February 18, the Fourth Circuit affirmed a district court decision ordering a divestiture in a private merger challenge. Although the FTC and DOJ have successfully challenged a few closed transactions, the Jeld-Wen...more
Critics of modern antitrust enforcement have been building momentum towards antitrust reform over the last several years. In the first week of February 2021, several members of Congress signaled that bipartisan legislative...more
In recent years, both Republican and Democratic-led antitrust agencies have pursued aggressive merger enforcement programs, litigating many cases and settling many more. However, “populist” and other progressive critics have...more
The first half of 2020 was a busy time for antitrust in the United States. The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) implemented expedited procedures for reviewing collaborations during the...more
8/27/2020
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Technology Sector ,
Vertical Mergers