For Your Information
FTC, DOJ Issue Fiscal Year 2022 Hart-Scott-Rodino Notification Report
The Federal Trade Commission, together with the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, released their annual report detailing fiscal year 2022 data on the HSR Premerger Notification Program, which alerts the agencies to transactions that may substantially lessen competition in violation of federal law.
The agencies’ 45th Annual Hart-Scott-Rodino Report notes that in fiscal year 2022, 3,152 transactions were reported under the HSR Act, which is the second-highest number of reported transactions over the past 10 years. Of the 3,152 transactions reported, 47 transactions or 1.6% of all HSR reportable transactions were subject to a second request issued by the agencies. The number of second requests issued by the agencies in fiscal year 2022 is consistent with the average number of second requests issued across the last decade.
The FTC and DOJ together filed 50 merger enforcement actions in fiscal year 2022, representing the highest level of enforcement activity in over 20 years. The Commission brought 24 merger enforcement challenges in fiscal year 2022; 11 in which it issued final consent orders after a public comment period; seven in which the transaction was abandoned or restructured as a result of antitrust concerns raised during the investigation; and six in which the Commission initiated administrative or federal court litigation. These enforcement actions preserved competition in numerous sectors of the economy, including consumer goods and services, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, high tech and industrial goods, and energy.
The report includes statistical tables profiling HSR filings and investigations during fiscal year 2022. Appendices provide a summary of transactions for the past 10 years, as well as the number of transactions reported and the number of transactions by industry group.
Enacted by Congress in 1976, the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act gives the federal government the opportunity to investigate and challenge mergers that are likely to harm consumers before injury occurs.
The Commission vote to issue the report was 3-0. FTC Chair Lina M. Khan was joined by Commissioners Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro M. Bedoya in a statement.
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