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.
Merger Notification Thresholds and Filing Fees to Increase
By Graham Hyman, Gregory E. Heltzer and Timothy (Ty) Carson on Jan 24, 2023
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Joint Ventures/Competitor Collaboration, Mergers & Acquisitions
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on January 23, 2023, the implementation of increased thresholds for merger notifications under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR Act) as well as increased filing fees for reportable transactions. Notification Threshold Increases Pursuant to the HSR Act, all transactions which meet or exceed the jurisdictional thresholds, and...
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2023 Regulatory Forecast: Antitrust & Competition
By Nicole Castle, Lesli Esposito and Gregory E. Heltzer on Jan 10, 2023
Posted In Consumer Protection/Privacy, DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) pursued aggressive antitrust and competition enforcement agendas this past year and show no signs of slowing down in 2023. Prepare for the year ahead by reviewing our 2023 Regulatory Forecast for the antitrust and competition space. Click the links below to download a...
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Congress Overhauls Merger Filing Fees and Thresholds
By Graham Hyman, Jon B. Dubrow, Gregory E. Heltzer and Timothy (Ty) Carson on Dec 23, 2022
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Joint Ventures/Competitor Collaboration, Mergers & Acquisitions
Congress has passed—and President Biden is expected to sign into law today—the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act, which will significantly change antitrust merger notification regulations under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (HSR Act), 15 U.S.C. § 18a. Included in the changes is language substantially altering the framework for the filing fee amounts and the deal value thresholds...
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Navigating the FTC’s Expanded Unfair-Competition Stance
By Gregory E. Heltzer, Graham Hyman and Raymond A. Jacobsen, Jr. on Nov 21, 2022
Posted In FTC Developments
On November 10, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted to approve a new policy statement interpreting the FTC’s authority under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, which prohibits “unfair methods of competition in or affecting commerce.” The newly adopted policy statement provides a significantly more expansive interpretation of the FTC’s authority and...
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Seven Corporate Directors Resign: DOJ Ramps Enforcement Against Board Members Serving on Competitors’ Boards
By Glenna Siegel, Gregory E. Heltzer and Jon B. Dubrow on Oct 21, 2022
Posted In DOJ Developments
WHAT HAPPENED Seven directors resigned from corporate boards following promises of enforcement of Clayton Act Section 8 (15 U.S.C. § 19) by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Antitrust Division (the Division), the Division announced Wednesday. The directors served on the boards of corporations that the DOJ asserted competed in a variety of sectors, including...
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DOJ to Merging Parties: The Time of “Underenforcement” is Over; Fix-It-First or Risk Being Challenged
By Jon B. Dubrow, Gregory E. Heltzer and Noah Feldman Greene on Sep 20, 2022
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions
WHAT HAPPENED During a conference last week, Ryan Danks, Director of Civil Enforcement at the US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (DOJ), suggested that merging parties—not the antitrust enforcement agencies—should devise fixes for allegedly anticompetitive transactions. Danks stated “that something is broken about the way that the antitrust community talks about remedies in the context...
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FTC Takes Action Limiting Overbroad M&A Non-Compete
By Gregory E. Heltzer on Jun 24, 2022
Posted In FTC Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions
WHAT HAPPENED GPM Investments (GPM) acquired 60 gas stations from Corrigan Oil (Corrigan). As part of the acquisition agreement, Corrigan agreed not to compete for a period of time with the gas stations purchased from Corrigan. In addition, Corrigan agreed not to compete with GPM for another 190 gas stations that GPM already owned. Few...
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DOJ Antitrust Head Signals Aggressive Enforcement against Private Equity Transactions
By Gregory E. Heltzer and Graham Hyman on May 31, 2022
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions
US antitrust enforcers have signaled that private equity firms are the prime targets for upcoming aggressive antitrust merger enforcement. In a recent interview, US Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter stated that the motive of a private equity firm may be “designed to hollow out or roll up an industry and essentially cash out,” which “is...
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Kanter Signals DOJ to Follow FTC Lockstep, Calls for Substantial Change to Competition Enforcement Approach
By Graham Hyman and Gregory E. Heltzer on Mar 14, 2022
Posted In Cartel Enforcement, DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Monopolization/Abuse of Dominance
In remarks delivered on January 18, 2022, and January 24, 2022, Jonathan Kanter, the Assistant Attorney General (AAG) for the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division, laid out the areas where he perceives shortcomings in antitrust enforcement. These speeches signaled that the Division, under Kanter’s direction, will take a more aggressive stance toward perceived...
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Treasury Responds to Biden Administration Executive Order with Report, Recommendations to Increase Alcohol Industry Competition
By Alva Mather and Gregory E. Heltzer on Feb 15, 2022
Posted In Distribution/Franchising, DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions, Monopolization/Abuse of Dominance
On February 9, 2022, the US Treasury Department (Treasury) released a report with recommendations for how the Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) can help drive competition in the beer, wine and spirits markets by stepping up conduct enforcement, adopting creative and nuanced theories of harm...
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