The Trump administration has initiated significant changes in antitrust policy through key appointments and policy announcements. The administration announced that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and US Department of Justice (DOJ) will continue using the 2023 Merger Guidelines and expressed support for new Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) rules. Additionally, the FTC outlined its goals, which include improving
Antitrust Alert
A Global Resource for Compliance Officers & Legal Advisors
Blog Authors
Latest from Antitrust Alert
New HSR Rules Go Live: Your Playbook for Effective M&A
Starting today, February 10, 2025, all merger filings will be subject to new Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) rules. The new HSR rules will fundamentally alter the premerger notification process, and substantially increase the burden on filing parties, who will need to provide significantly more information and documents with their initial filings. Companies can take steps today to…
Unpacking the Biden Administration’s Last-Minute Antitrust Worker Protections
In the final week of the Biden administration, the Federal Trade Commission and US Department of Justice released two policies potentially impacting labor markets. The first is a Policy Statement on the Exemption of Protected Labor Activity for Independent Contractors, and the second is the Antitrust Guidelines on Business Practices that Impact Workers. The policies…
FTC Publishes Annual Merger Notification Jurisdictional Threshold and Filing Fee Adjustments
On January 10, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released increased jurisdictional thresholds, filing fee thresholds, and filing fee amounts for merger notifications made pursuant to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR Act). Merger Notification Threshold Changes The HSR premerger notification regime requires transacting parties to notify the FTC and US Department of…
FTC Targets Price Discrimination With New Robinson-Patman Act Lawsuit
On December 12, 2024, following a nearly two-year-long investigation, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) initiated its first litigation under the Robinson-Patman Act (RPA) in more than two decades. The FTC sued Southern Glazer’s, a large wine and spirits distributor, alleging the company charged higher prices to smaller retailer customers than it did to large chains, violating the…
What a Second Trump Term Means for Antitrust Enforcement
On January 20, 2025, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s administration will come into power. The McDermott antitrust and competition team has analyzed the first Trump term, compared it to the Biden administration’s actions, and reviewed statements from those involved in the upcoming Trump administration. While it appears that the new administration will be good for business,…
Understanding How the New HSR Regime Impacts Your Business
During a recent webinar, Jon Dubrow, Greg Heltzer, Lisa Rumin, and Ryan Tisch provided a comprehensive introduction to the new Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) rules and their impact on the US premerger notification filing process. The program concluded with a Q&A moderated by Reese Poncia and featuring Ty Carson, a former Federal Trade Commission Premerger Notification Office lawyer, who shared his insider’s perspective from six years…
New Premerger Notification Regime to Fundamentally Change M&A Strategy
On October 10, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission issued new final rules governing the US premerger notification filing process. These rules – the first major overhaul to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) filing form in the nearly 50-year history of the HSR Act – will fundamentally alter the premerger notification process. While the rules omit some of…
Game-Changing Ruling Looms in Google Antitrust Battle
On 5 September 2024, Advocate General (AG) Laila Medina rendered her opinion in Alphabet and Others, suggesting that the European Court of Justice not apply the strict Bronner criteria when assessing Google’s refusal to grant access to its Android Auto platform for an app that provides a set of features for charging electric vehicles. Instead,…
Illumina/GRAIL: European Court of Justice Annuls the Commission’s Approach
In a spectacular turn, on September 3, 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union annulled the European Commission’s decision to review the acquisition of Grail by Illumina. The Commission had previously asserted its authority to examine the merger under Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation, despite the transaction not meeting the EU…