Tag: Competition

The Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint against Gateway Services and its subsidiary Gateway US Holdings, Inc., (collectively referred to as Gateway), which alleges that Gateway imposed noncompete agreements on almost all of its employees, which typically prohibited employees from working in the pet cremation service industry anywhere in the U.S. for one year after leaving Gateway.

Under a proposed FTC consent order, Gateway must, among other terms, immediately stop enforcing all existing noncompete agreements.

On November 25, 2025, the FTC finalized the consent order in this matter.

The Federal Trade Commission issued an administrative complaint to challenge GTCR BC Holdings, LLC’s acquisition of Surmodics, Inc., alleging that the deal, which seeks to combine the two largest manufacturers of critical medical device coatings, is anticompetitive. The FTC charges that private equity firm GTCR’s proposed acquisition of Surmodics would create a combined company controlling more than 50% of the market for outsourced hydrophilic coatings. These coatings are often used by medical device manufacturers and are applied to lifesaving medical devices such as catheters and guidewires.

The Federal Trade Commission filed an amended complaint adding the states of Illinois and Minnesota as co-plaintiffs in the Commission’s lawsuit challenging GTCR BC Holdings, LLC’s (GTCR) acquisition of Surmodics, Inc. (Surmodics). The amended complaint also adds GTCR, LLC as an additional defendant in the case. 

The Federal Trade Commission took action to protect Americans from paying higher prices at the pump by resolving antitrust concerns surrounding Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.’s (ACT) proposed $1.57 billion acquisition of 270 retail fuel outlets from grocery store chain Giant Eagle, Inc. Under the proposed consent order, the FTC will require ACT to divest 35 gas stations, which will be acquired by Majors Management, LLC. The consent order settles FTC charges that ACT’s deal with Giant Eagle is anticompetitive and will likely lead to higher fuel costs for consumers across Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. On November 19, 2025, the FTC finalized the consent order in this matter. 

The Federal Trade Commission will require automotive services company Valvoline Inc. and private equity firm Greenbriar Equity Fund V., L.P. (Greenbriar) to divest 45 quick-lube oil change shops to resolve antitrust concerns surrounding their $625 million deal. Main Street Auto, LLC will acquire the divested outlets from Greenbriar under the terms of the FTC’s proposed divestiture order.

The Federal Trade Commission will require Synopsys, Inc. and Ansys, Inc., under a proposed consent order, to divest certain assets to resolve antitrust concerns surrounding their $35 billion merger. The proposed consent order settles FTC allegations that Synopsys’s acquisition of Ansys is anticompetitive across three markets – optical software tools, photonic software tools for designing and simulating photonic devices, and RTL power consumption analysis tools. The FTC finalized the consent order on October 17, 2025.

The Federal Trade Commission sued Zillow and Redfin over an unlawful agreement that eliminates Redfin as a competitor in the market for placing advertising of rental housing on internet listing services (ILSs)—the websites that millions of Americans use to find their next rental home. The complaint alleges that in February 2025, Zillow and Redfin entered into an illegal agreement to dismantle Redfin as a competitor in the ILS advertising market for multifamily rental properties.

The Federal Trade Commission issued an administrative complaint to block medical device supplier Edwards Lifesciences Corp.’s (Edwards) proposed acquisition of JenaValve Technology, Inc. (JenaValve) due to concerns that the acquisition would limit patient access to lifesaving medical devices used to treat a potentially fatal heart condition.

The Federal Trade Commission took action to resolve antitrust concerns related to Omnicom Group Inc.’s $13.5 billion acquisition of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (IPG).

The FTC accepted a proposed consent order that will prevent potential anticompetitive coordination by Omnicom, a global advertising agency that facilitates media buying by representing advertisers in negotiations with media publishers over conditions such as pricing, ad placement, and sponsorships, as well as helping execute advertisers’ ad campaigns.

On September 26, 2025, the FTC approved a final order in this matter which further clarifies the order’s scope and imposes a compliance monitor.