NCAA vs. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma: A Win for Antitrust Law and College Football Fans
Under the old guard of the prior administration, private equity was repeatedly under fire for alleged “flip and strip” tactics that were supposedly “at odds with competition.” Now, with new enforcers in place, a different...more
After years of litigating its attempt to block Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) recently dropped its in-house challenge following the Ninth Circuit’s decision affirming...more
Illinois Attorney General (AG) Kwame Raoul and Minnesota AG Keith Ellison have joined the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in a lawsuit to block the acquisition of Surmodics Inc. by GTCR BC Holdings LLC, two major manufacturers...more
Firms across industries face mounting antitrust scrutiny from enforcers, legislators, and the plaintiffs’ bar. Sports teams and leagues are no exception. As the volume of sports commerce expands globally, so too does scrutiny...more
On April 25, U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi ordered the NCAA not to enforce its Five-Year Rule against Rutgers University cornerback Jett Elad. The impact of name, image, and likeness (NIL) agreements on the new world...more
The Spring Meeting is the largest gathering of competition, consumer protection, and data privacy professionals globally, with lawyers, academics, economists, enforcers, journalists, and students from around the world....more
On March 7, 2025, the FTC filed a complaint in federal court seeking to block GTCR BC Holdings, LLC, a Chicago private equity firm, from acquiring Surmodics, Inc. The FTC alleges that Surmodics is the leading provider of a...more
On January 17, in the final days of the Biden Administration, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reached a settlement with private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson, and Rowe (Welsh Carson) in lieu of bringing an...more
On December 13, 2024, Judge Robert E. Payne of the Eastern District of Virginia, in a long-running private action that had previously found a consummated merger to be unlawful, overruled defendant’s objections to the required...more
Case pits newcomer against colossus said to control as much as 80-90% of the market. Particle Health Inc., a young healthcare data platform provider, has filed an antitrust complaint against Epic Systems Corp., the dominant...more
United States Attorney General Merrick Garland, giving remarks about the lawsuit, highlighted public criticism over Live Nation-Ticketmaster’s “exorbitant fees and technological failures” and stated that this lawsuit is “what...more
The FTC’s enforcement efforts against private equity hit a significant roadblock on May 13 when a federal judge granted Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe’s (Welsh Carson) motion to dismiss the agency’s complaint against the...more
The FTC has agreed to a consent order to resolve antitrust concerns surrounding a proposed $5.2 billion cash-and-stock deal that would make private equity firm Quantum Energy Partners one of the largest shareholders of...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been active in challenging hospital combinations. In June 2022, the FTC filed complaints to block two hospital transactions. Within weeks of the FTC's actions, both transactions were...more
On October 19, 2022, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued a press release heralding the resignation of seven directors from ten companies’ boards of directors in response to the government’s...more
Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) sent letters to multiple public companies, investors and individuals advising of concerns of “interlocking directorates” and stating that it may bring lawsuits for...more
This week, the Ninth Circuit takes a close look at a sizable antitrust jury award, and explains what constitutes a tax “return” for purposes of bankruptcy law. OPTRONIC TECHNOLOGIES, INC v. NINGBO SUNNY ELECTRONIC CO....more
State AGs File Another Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google - Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia filed the fourth antitrust lawsuit against Google since October 2020, claiming that Google’s Play store unlawfully...more
Highlights - • The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently updated its interpretation of its authority to challenge “unfair methods of competition” under Section 5 of the FTC Act. It will no longer limit enforcement actions...more
As 2019 kicks off, the Cooley antitrust group highlights 10 recent developments and trends corporate counsel should be aware of – from the US Supreme Court and lower courts, the Department of Justice and Federal Trade...more
The American Bar Association’s 65th Antitrust Law Spring Meeting held at the end of March included a number of sessions with representatives from federal and state antitrust enforcement agencies. In this first of a three-part...more
Recent enforcement activity by the Department of Justice (that required restructuring a live transaction) and the Federal Trade Commission makes clear that enforcement of Section 8 of the Clayton Act, the prohibition against...more
A large regional health insurer extricated itself from an antitrust suit, leaving the dominant local hospital to square off alone versus an ambulatory surgical center (ASC). The U.S. District Court for the Southern District...more