Gregory E. Heltzer
Subscribe to Gregory E. Heltzer's PostsGregory (Greg) E. Heltzer focuses his practice on defending mergers and acquisitions before the US Federal Trade Commission, US Department of Justice, state antitrust authorities and foreign competition authorities. Greg has extensive experience in evaluating whether potential transactions will be cleared by antitrust enforcers and developing a viable path for clearance. In addition, he handles complex antitrust litigation, government investigations and antitrust counseling. Read Greg Heltzer's full bio.
Fifth Circuit grants temporary stay preserving 2024 HSR rules
By Royce Brosseau, Jon B. Dubrow, Noah Feldman Greene, Gregory E. Heltzer, Elai Katz and Ryan Tisch on Feb 20, 2026
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions
On February 19, 2026, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) motion to temporarily stay the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas’s order vacating the 2024 Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Premerger Notification Rules “until further order” while the parties brief the FTC’s motion to stay the...
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Federal court vacates FTC’s new HSR rules
By Royce Brosseau, Jon B. Dubrow, Noah Feldman Greene, Gregory E. Heltzer, Elai Katz and Ryan Tisch on Feb 13, 2026
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions
On February 12, 2026, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas set aside and vacated the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) new premerger notification form and instructions. The 2024 Final Rule that amended the Premerger Notification Rules under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act, which became effective February 10, 2025, requires merging parties to submit...
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Indiana poised to become third state with “mini-HSR” regime
By Royce Brosseau, Jon B. Dubrow, Noah Feldman Greene and Gregory E. Heltzer on Jan 28, 2026
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions
On January 21, 2026, the Indiana Senate Committee on Judiciary voted unanimously to advance Indiana’s version of the Uniform Antitrust Pre-merger Notification Act (the Act). Indiana is poised to become the third state with a “mini-HSR” regime, following Washington and Colorado in 2025. Pending passage by the full legislature and signature by the governor, the...
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FTC increases 2026 thresholds for HSR filings and interlocking directorates
By Gregory E. Heltzer, Timothy (Ty) Carson and Royce Brosseau on Jan 15, 2026
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Joint Ventures/Competitor Collaboration, Mergers & Acquisitions
On January 14, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released increased jurisdictional thresholds, filing fee thresholds, and filing fee amounts for merger notifications made pursuant to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR Act). The FTC also revised thresholds for interlocking directorates under Section 8 of the Clayton Act. Read more about the changes...
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FTC and DOJ will continue to accept HSR filings during impending shutdown
By Gregory E. Heltzer and Payton Thornton on Sep 30, 2025
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions
What happened? The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced this week that its Premerger Notification Office (PNO), along with the Department of Justice Antitrust Division Premerger Office, will remain open under modified conditions to accept and process Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) premerger notification filings in the event of a US federal government shutdown. While PNO staff will only...
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Washington State Enacts Merger Review Regime
By Gregory E. Heltzer and Royce Brosseau on Apr 29, 2025
Posted In Healthcare Antitrust, Mergers & Acquisitions
Washington is the first state to enact the Uniform Antitrust Premerger Notification Act, which requires merging parties that submit a federal filing under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act to also submit the HSR filing to the Washington attorney general if the deal has a sufficient nexus to Washington. Many states have merger notification requirements for certain...
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New HSR Rules Go Live: Your Playbook for Effective M&A
By Gregory E. Heltzer, Noah Feldman Greene and Jon B. Dubrow on Feb 10, 2025
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Healthcare Antitrust, Joint Ventures/Competitor Collaboration, Mergers & Acquisitions
Starting today, February 10, 2025, all merger filings will be subject to new Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) rules. The new HSR rules will fundamentally alter the premerger notification process, and substantially increase the burden on filing parties, who will need to provide significantly more information and documents with their initial filings. Companies can take steps today to...
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FTC Publishes Annual Merger Notification Jurisdictional Threshold and Filing Fee Adjustments
By Gregory E. Heltzer, Graham Hyman and Timothy (Ty) Carson on Jan 13, 2025
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Joint Ventures/Competitor Collaboration, Mergers & Acquisitions
On January 10, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released increased jurisdictional thresholds, filing fee thresholds, and filing fee amounts for merger notifications made pursuant to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR Act). Merger Notification Threshold Changes The HSR premerger notification regime requires transacting parties to notify the FTC and US Department of...
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FTC Targets Price Discrimination With New Robinson-Patman Act Lawsuit
By Gregory E. Heltzer, Lisa P. Rumin, Ryan Tisch and Royce Brosseau on Dec 27, 2024
Posted In Consumer Protection/Privacy, Distribution/Franchising, FTC Developments
On December 12, 2024, following a nearly two-year-long investigation, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) initiated its first litigation under the Robinson-Patman Act (RPA) in more than two decades. The FTC sued Southern Glazer’s, a large wine and spirits distributor, alleging the company charged higher prices to smaller retailer customers than it did to large chains, violating the...
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Understanding How the New HSR Regime Impacts Your Business
By Jon B. Dubrow, Gregory E. Heltzer, Lisa P. Rumin, Ryan Tisch, Timothy (Ty) Carson and Reese Poncia on Nov 5, 2024
Posted In FTC Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions
During a recent webinar, Jon Dubrow, Greg Heltzer, Lisa Rumin, and Ryan Tisch provided a comprehensive introduction to the new Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) rules and their impact on the US premerger notification filing process. The program concluded with a Q&A moderated by Reese Poncia and featuring Ty Carson, a former Federal Trade Commission Premerger Notification Office lawyer, who shared his insider’s perspective from six years...
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