Skip to main content
Competition Matters

MMA Reports: No tricks or treats—just facts

Date
With the passage of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA), Congress required pharmaceutical companies to file certain patent settlement agreements with the...
Competition Matters

“All Documents” means more than emails and files

Date
Executives and employees of modern businesses communicate with one another, and with suppliers and customers, in a wide variety of ways. Especially with the current challenges of in-person meetings...
Competition Matters

Leadership Changes in Mergers Divisions

Date
I am pleased to announce several leadership changes in the Bureau's Mergers I and Mergers IV Divisions. Mark Seidman has been named as the Acting Assistant Director for the Mergers IV Division. Mark...
Competition Matters

A Fiscal Year Like No Other

Date
With the conclusion of FY2020, we look back on a year unlike any other in the history of the Bureau of Competition. The year has been marked by a combination of exceptional commitment from the Bureau...
Competition Matters

Seeing the whole picture on avoidance devices

Date
Under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act and Rules, parties cannot use a transaction structure for the purpose of avoiding or delaying their premerger filing obligation. If they do, the Commission must...
Competition Matters

FTC releases agenda for Data To Go virtual workshop

Date
“Take out” takes on a whole new meaning when it involves your data. Consumers and industry members are giving more thought to the issue of data portability – the ability of consumers to move data...
Competition Matters

The hearing may be virtual, but the rules are the same

Date
It is generally a serious violation of our rules for counsel to pass private notes to a witness in an investigational hearing or deposition, or otherwise coach or consult with a witness, while a...
Competition Matters

Real deadlines and real consequences

Date
Recently, Alimentation Couche-Tard and CrossAmerica Partners (collectively ACT) agreed to pay a $3.5 million civil penalty to settle allegations that they violated a Commission divestiture order that...
Competition Matters

Eyes Wide Open: There are no blinders in merger reviews

Date
The FTC's Bureau of Competition sometimes reviews proposed mergers against the backdrop of civil and criminal antitrust investigations or litigations leveled in the same industry. And at times, such...
Competition Matters

Real-Time Transparency for HSR Transaction Numbers

Date
In response to increased interest in levels of M&A activity, the Bureau of Competition’s Premerger Notification Office (PNO) is responding in real-time by posting monthly figures for Hart-Scott-Rodino...
Competition Matters

A Busy Six Months

Date
As we head into the second half of 2020, it’s a good time to pause and take stock of the past six months of work in the Bureau of Competition. Despite the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic...
Competition Matters

Leadership Changes in the Anticompetitive Practices Division

Date
I am pleased to announce the appointment of a new manager in the Bureau of Competition: Patty McDermott has joined the Anticompetitive Practices Division as Deputy Assistant Director. Patty has served...
Competition Matters

On “Failing” Firms — and Miraculous Recoveries

Date
Over the past few years, the Bureau has faced a surprising number of failing firm claims by merging parties. Even when the economy was booming, we heard many iterations of the same argument: The...
Competition Matters

HSR Filing Fees – Reminders and Tips

Date
The PNO handles Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) premerger notification filings for thousands of transactions each year. Filing fees are also required as part of the HSR premerger notification process. Failure...
Competition Matters

Yes, we’re hiring another AD!

Date
I want to thank Mike Moiseyev for his dedication and commitment to the Bureau of Competition. Mike has led the Mergers I Division for the past 16-and-a-half years, becoming Assistant Director in 2003...
Competition Matters

We’re hiring a new AD!

Date
I want to thank Kevin Hahm for his work in the Bureau of Competition and, most importantly, for his contribution to our competition enforcement. Kevin, most recently, the Assistant Director for the...
Competition Matters

Resuming early termination of HSR reviews

Date
On Friday, March 13, as part of the Bureau’s response to the COVID-19 coronavirus situation, and in partnership with the Antitrust Division of DOJ, we announced that the Bureau’s Premerger...