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Competition Matters

HSR threshold adjustments and reportability for 2020

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When Congress passed the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, it created minimum dollar thresholds to limit the burden of premerger reporting. In 2000, it amended the HSR statute to...
Competition Matters

The closest competitor is not the only competitor

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More and more, merging parties argue that their merger does not raise competition concerns because they are not each other’s closest competitors. Parties have advanced this argument even in markets...
Competition Matters

Avoidance devices won’t avoid HSR penalties

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The Commission and Department of Justice’s recent case against Canon Inc. and Toshiba Corporation for violating the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act makes an important point: restructuring...
Competition Matters

Just because it’s ancillary doesn’t make it legal

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In The Wizard of Oz , Dorothy was told to ignore the man behind the curtain. Some may argue that the same guidance applies to ancillary parts of a merger or joint venture agreement. These can include...
Competition Matters

Interlocking Mindfulness

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The wellness strategy of the moment is mindfulness: focusing on the present and being completely aware of your situation. Even in the corporate sphere, there are good reasons for anyone in governance...
Competition Matters

Unpacking Divestiture Packages

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Crafting effective merger remedies is one of the Commission’s most important tasks. Done well, a divestiture prevents the competitive harm likely to result from a proposed merger and ensures that...
Competition Matters

The uphill case for a post-Order divestiture

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Designing effective merger remedy orders is one of the Commission’s most important tasks. An effective merger remedy prevents the merger from causing harm. For many years – ever since our 1999...
Competition Matters

HSR threshold adjustments and reportability for 2019

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When Congress passed the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, it created minimum dollar thresholds to limit the burden of premerger reporting. In 2000, it amended the HSR statute to...
Competition Matters

U.S. Privilege Following Akzo Nobel v. European Commission

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Lawyers who have been paying attention to such things might recall the predicted fallout from the decision in Akzo Chemicals Ltd v. European Commission , Case C-550/07-P (September 14, 2010) . In Akzo...
Competition Matters

Lessons from FTC v. Wilhelmsen for merger practitioners

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Last month, Judge Tanya S. Chutkan of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia granted the FTC’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction, halting Wilhelmsen’s proposed acquisition of...
Competition Matters

It takes less time to do a thing right

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Longfellow said “It takes less time to do a thing right than to explain why you did it wrong.” We agree, especially when it comes to designing effective merger remedies—ones that maintain competition...
Competition Matters

Timing is everything: The Model Timing Agreement

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The Bureau of Competition has undertaken several initiatives to streamline our merger review process in order to reach swifter resolutions—whether that be clearance, a negotiated settlement, or a...
Competition Matters

HSR threshold adjustments and reportability for 2018

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When Congress passed the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, it created minimum dollar thresholds to limit the burden of premerger reporting. In 2000, it amended the HSR statute to...
Competition Matters

Vertical mergers, yesterday and today

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Last week, I spoke about a topic that has attracted a lot of popular interest in antitrust enforcement lately—vertical merger enforcement. We view vertical mergers as an important part of the FTC’s...
Competition Matters

Getting in Sync with HSR Timing Considerations

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The Hart Scott Rodino (HSR) Act and Rules require that parties to certain mergers and acquisitions submit premerger notification filings and wait before consummating the transaction. Parties must...