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Date
Rule
801.1
Staff
Nora Whitehead
Response/Comments

From: Whitehead, Nora 
Sent: Monday, March 10, 2025 11:01:54 AM (UTC-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)
To: [Redacted]
Cc: HSRHelp 
Subject: RE: Associates Analysis 
 

Please see answers below in bold.
 

Question

From: Whitehead, Nora 
Sent: Monday, March 10, 2025 11:01:54 AM (UTC-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)
To: [Redacted] 
Cc: HSRHelp 
Subject: RE: Associates Analysis 
 

Please see answers below in bold.


From: [Redacted]
Sent: Monday, March 10, 2025 9:40:39 AM (UTC-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)
To: HSRHelp 
Subject: Associates Analysis 
 

Hi PNO team, 
I am analyzing who qualifies as an "associate" for HSR purposes. The fund in question is an LP ("LP1"), which has a general partner that is also an LP ("GP"). The general partner of GP is an LLC ("LLC1"). LLC1 has two managing members who are natural persons, and these managing members have the contractual authority to direct the investment decisions of both GP and LP1.
These two natural person managing members also serve as managing members of other funds with similar structures to LP1 (e.g., a fund with a general partner LP, whose GP is an LLC, and whose LLC has natural person managing members making investment decisions for the underlying funds). I am assessing which other funds managed by these natural persons qualify as associates for HSR purposes.
1.    If both natural persons are the only two managing members of another LLC (LLC2), would funds controlled by LLC2 be considered associates of LP1? Yes
2.    If both natural persons are two out of three natural person managers in another LLC (LLC3), and a majority vote is required for investment decisions, would funds controlled by LLC3 be associates of LP1? Yes
3.    If both natural persons are two out of four natural person managers in another LLC (LLC4), and a majority vote is required for investment decisions, would funds controlled by LLC4 be associates of LP1? If two of the managers can direct investment, then the answer is “Yes”, if the “majority” is defined as three managers, then the answer is “No.”
4.    If one of the natural persons is a managing member in another fund with three natural person managers, and a majority vote is required for investment decisions, would funds controlled by that LLC be associates of LP1? No
Thanks for your assistance!
 

About Informal Interpretations

Informal interpretations provide guidance from PNO staff on the applicability of the HSR rules to specific fact situations. They do not necessarily reflect the position of the Commission. You should not rely on them as a substitute for reading the Act and the Rules themselves. These materials do not, and are not intended to, constitute legal advice. 

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