Recent enforcement actions and media coverage have increased scrutiny on director interlocks under the Clayton Act, which prohibits individuals serving at the same time as directors or officers of companies that compete....more
8/1/2025
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Board of Directors ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Popular ,
Private Equity ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
The Clayton Act ,
Threshold Requirements
On Thursday, April 10, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Mark Meador as a Commissioner of the FTC. Previously, it was expected that Meador’s confirmation would lead to significant changes at the FTC, as his presence on the...more
Both the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division have now brought cases challenging deals under President Trump’s administration. In many respects, the theories of harm alleged in...more
3/24/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Commissioners ,
Healthcare ,
Horizontal Merger Guidelines ,
Likelihood of Harm ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Technology Sector
On January 10, 2025, the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission filed a statement of interest in Musk v. Altman, signaling a late push by the government to expand the scope of liability for interlocking...more
1/20/2025
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Competition ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Elon Musk ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Microsoft ,
Section 8 ,
The Clayton Act
The Federal Trade Commission announced the annual revised thresholds for merger notifications under the Hart Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (“HSR Act”). The thresholds are revised annually based...more
1/15/2025
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Jurisdictional Thresholds ,
Mergers ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Size of Persons Test ,
Size of Transaction Test ,
Threshold Requirements
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) sent a firm message—unlawful coordination of merging businesses prior to the closing under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements (“HSR”) Act will be aggressively enforced. On...more
This month, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) filed its much-anticipated lawsuit against Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits, LLC (“Southern Glazer’s”), alleging the alcohol distributor violated the Robinson-Patman Act...more
12/31/2024
/ Antitrust Litigation ,
Competition ,
Distributors ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Manufacturers ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Price Discrimination ,
Product Pricing ,
Robinson-Patman Act ,
Supply Chain
On December 11, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice unexpectedly withdrew the 2000 Antitrust Guidelines for Collaborations Among Competitors (Collaboration Guidelines)....more
On Tuesday, December 10, Donald Trump announced two picks for placements on the Federal Trade Commission: Commissioner Andrew Ferguson for Chair and Mark Meador for Commissioner. While Meador’s appointment requires Senate...more
12/17/2024
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Agricultural Sector ,
Antitrust Division ,
Biden Administration ,
Big Tech ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sherman Act ,
Trump Administration
Both the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division have focused their sights on big technology companies. Understanding the precedents set by these suits is critical for clients...more
On October 10, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), with the concurrence of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, (the “DOJ”, and together, the “Agencies”) voted unanimously to adopt new premerger...more
The Federal Trade Commission announced the annual revised thresholds for merger notifications under the Hart Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (“HSR Act”). The thresholds are revised annually based...more
1/24/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Size of Persons Test ,
Size of Transaction Test ,
Threshold Requirements
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced revised thresholds (“2024 Thresholds”) applicable to Section 8 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. § 19. The thresholds are adjusted annually based on changes in gross national...more
This week’s filings by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) against Amazon.com, Inc. (“Amazon”) and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) against Agri Stats, Inc. (“Agri Stats”) exemplify the agencies’ broad...more
With one day for Congress to enact appropriations funding federal government operations, the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (the “Agencies”) each issued a contingency plan (the “Plans”)...more
Commissioner Christine Wilson announced her resignation from the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) on February 14, 2023 in a Wall Street Journal Op-Ed. Commissioner Wilson’s very public resignation confirms the deep divide...more
The Federal Trade Commission announced the annual revised thresholds for merger notifications under the Hart Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements act of 1976, as amended (“HSR Act”). The thresholds are revised annually based...more
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced revised thresholds (“2023 Thresholds”) applicable to Section 8 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. § 19. The thresholds are adjusted annually based on changes in gross national...more
The Federal Trade Commission announced the annual revised thresholds for merger notifications under the Hart Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements act of 1976, as amended (“HSR Act”). The thresholds are revised annually based...more
Taking aim at what it views as an unfair practice that keeps hundreds of billions of dollars out of workers’ pockets, on January 5 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued proposed rulemaking that would effectively ban...more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 was signed into law by President Biden on December 29, 2022. Included in this massive bill was the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022 (the “Fee Modernization Act”)....more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently reported that parties filed U.S. pre-merger notifications for only 181 transactions in October 2022, an almost 60% drop year over year from October 2021’s 443 number, and a marked...more
The business community was put on notice last week after the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the resignations of seven directors from five corporate boards following what DOJ called the “first in a broader review of...more
11/1/2022
/ Antitrust Division ,
Competition ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Directors ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Section 8 ,
The Clayton Act ,
Threshold Requirements
On January 24, 2022, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced increased financial thresholds under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (“HSR Act”). Following statutory amendments...more
During an already busy year for antitrust legislative and regulatory proposals, on July 9, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14036: “Promoting Competition in the American Economy.” The Executive Order (“EO”)...more
7/16/2021
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Antitrust Division ,
Banking Sector ,
Biden Administration ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Technology Sector ,
Vertical Mergers