The Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) recent settlement of the Synopsys/Ansys merger and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s (“DOJ”) settlement of the Keysight/Spirent merger are signs that, under the new Trump administration, the agencies are interested in putting merger remedies, which had essentially been a non-starter during the Biden administration, back on the table. FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson, who issued a statement in connection with
Read More Merger Remedies are Back in Play under Trump 2.0Trump 2.0 — Back to the Future?
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After winning the presidency, Donald Trump will look to bring his own antitrust enforcement priorities to his second administration. During his first term, Donald Trump’s Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and Department of Justice (“DOJ”) engaged in relatively robust enforcement of the antitrust laws, including suing to block the proposed merger of AT&T/Time Warner, as well as bringing cases against Google and Meta (formerly Facebook) for…
Read More Trump 2.0 — Back to the Future?New DOJ Safe Harbor Policy Aims to Incentivize Timely Disclosure of Criminal Misconduct Discovered During Mergers and Acquisitions
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On October 4, 2023, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco announced the Department of Justice’s new Mergers & Acquisitions Safe Harbor Policy.[1] The policy aims to incentivize timely disclosures of misconduct uncovered during the M&A process by providing a safe harbor and a presumption of a declination to companies that comply with the new Safe Harbor Policy. This advisory addresses steps companies can take…
Read More New DOJ Safe Harbor Policy Aims to Incentivize Timely Disclosure of Criminal Misconduct Discovered During Mergers and AcquisitionsThe Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. DOJ Antitrust Division during the Biden Administration Have Significantly Ramped Up Antitrust Enforcement: Non-Antitrust Lawyers Beware!
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Senior Counsel Robert M. Langer and Michael A. Kurs of Pullman & Comley have co-authored an article titled, “The Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. DOJ Antitrust Division during the Biden Administration Have Significantly Ramped Up Antitrust Enforcement: Non-Antitrust Lawyers Beware!” in the Connecticut Bar Association’s Connecticut Lawyer Magazine.
The article discusses the efforts of the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the…
Read More The Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. DOJ Antitrust Division during the Biden Administration Have Significantly Ramped Up Antitrust Enforcement: Non-Antitrust Lawyers Beware!FTC Proposes Dramatic Changes to HSR Premerger Filings, as Agencies Unveil New Merger Guidelines
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On October 10, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced its final rules with respect to Premerger Notification under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act of 1976 (as amended) (“HSR”). The final rules formalize what will be the largest change to premerger notification requirements since at least 2000. The final rules follow from the draft rules that the FTC published in June 2023.[1] The new…
Read More FTC Proposes Dramatic Changes to HSR Premerger Filings, as Agencies Unveil New Merger GuidelinesUS DOJ Antitrust Division Withdraws Safety Zones
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The United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division announced on February 3, 2023, that it has withdrawn from three guidance documents, issued in 1993, 1996 and 2011. The reason given was that the guidance documents were deemed “obsolete.”
The most significant aspect of this announced withdrawal is that each document provided certain “safety zones” for health care providers. Simply stated, if a company complied strictly…
Read More US DOJ Antitrust Division Withdraws Safety Zones“FTC Merger Policy Shifts May Spur Uncertainty And Risk”
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Partner Benjamin Diessel, Senior Counsel Robert Langer and Associate Zeynep Aydogan authored a piece titled, “FTC Merger Policy Shifts May Spur Uncertainty And Risk” for Law360. The article discusses the recent measures that the Federal Trade Commission has taken to “reshape its enforcement priorities for review of mergers and acquisitions.”
Traditionally, new policies have been adopted jointly by the FTC and the U.S.
Read More “FTC Merger Policy Shifts May Spur Uncertainty And Risk”The FTC’s Recent Unilateral Changes in Its Merger Policies Creates Both Uncertainty and Increased Risk
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The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”) has recently taken bold measures to reshape the Commission’s enforcement priorities for review of mergers and acquisitions. The FTC shares jurisdiction over such reviews with the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”). Accordingly, new policies have historically been adopted jointly by the FTC and DOJ. Several recent actions of the FTC, however, have been undertaken unilaterally in a stark…
Read More The FTC’s Recent Unilateral Changes in Its Merger Policies Creates Both Uncertainty and Increased RiskShould the Antitrust Division, the FTC, and State Attorneys General Formally Allocate the Market for Antitrust Enforcement?
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The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, and state attorneys general, as any antitrust aficionado knows, have dramatically improved the level of communication, cooperation, and coordination among themselves in the investigation and prosecution of antitrust violations during the past decade.1 Two important examples of such coordination are the 1998 Protocol for Coordination in Merger Investigations Between the Federal…
Read More Should the Antitrust Division, the FTC, and State Attorneys General Formally Allocate the Market for Antitrust Enforcement?Recent Developments Concerning the Non-Profit Institutions Act
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Non-profit hospitals and other non-profit or charitable health care organizations may be able to claim a limited exemption from the antitrust laws for the purchase and resale of supplies for their own use under the Non-Profit Institutions Act (15 U.S.C. § 13c.).
In general, the Robinson-Patman Act prohibits the contemporaneous sale in interstate commerce of commodities of like grade and quality for use or resale within…
Read More Recent Developments Concerning the Non-Profit Institutions Act