Matt Evola
Subscribe to Matt Evola's PostsMatt Evola assists clients with premerger analysis and notification under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Antitrust Improvements Act and in defending mergers and acquisitions before the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), US Department of Justice (DOJ), state antitrust authorities and foreign competition authorities. He also counsels clients in relation to complex antitrust litigation and government investigations. Matt has experience in a variety of industries, including representing clients in the healthcare, pharmaceutical, packaging, aggregates, consumer products, and telecommunications industries. Read Matt Evola's full bio.
Antitrust M&A Snapshot | Q4 2022
By Alexandra Lewis, Jon B. Dubrow, Joel R. Grosberg and Matt Evola on Jan 19, 2023
Posted In DOJ Developments, EC Developments, EU Developments, FTC Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions
Topics covered in this edition: • DOJ Sees First Merger Win After String of Losses • FTC Brings Suit Against Microsoft/Activision • Updated Merger Guidelines Expected Soon • Merger Fees Changing • The EC Launches a Consultation on Its Draft Revised Market Definition Notice • UK Orders a Chinese Firm to Divest Its 83% Controlling...
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Antitrust M&A Snapshot | Q3 2022
By Reese Poncia, Carina Kant, Jon B. Dubrow, Joel R. Grosberg and Matt Evola on Nov 18, 2022
Posted In DOJ Developments, EC Developments, EU Developments, FTC Developments, Healthcare Antitrust, Mergers & Acquisitions
In the United States, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lost four merger challenges (Illumina/GRAIL, UnitedHealth/Change Healthcare, U.S. Sugar/Imperial Sugar and Booz Allen/EverWatch) in September. The losses demonstrate that parties willing to litigate can have success in court. The absence of “smoking gun” documents and lack of a presumption...
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Why Courts Are Rejecting Agencies’ Merger Challenges
By Jon B. Dubrow, Joel R. Grosberg and Matt Evola on Oct 24, 2022
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions
The US Department of Justice’s and the Federal Trade Commission’s losses in three merger challenges in September and a fourth in October demonstrate that merging parties can close difficult transactions if willing to fight the agencies in court. In this Law360 article, McDermott’s Jon B. Dubrow, Joel R. Grosberg and Matt Evola discuss these four cases...
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Antitrust M&A Snapshot | Q4 2021
By Matt Evola, Mary Hecht, Jon B. Dubrow, Joel R. Grosberg and Lisa P. Rumin on Feb 1, 2022
Posted In DOJ Developments, EC Developments, EU Developments, French Developments, FTC Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions
In the United States, antitrust agencies have now filled senior leadership positions, although the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) awaits the appointment of a fifth commissioner. Challenges to mergers continue apace at both the FTC and the Department of Justice (DOJ). The agencies challenged two mergers in the fourth quarter and a third transaction was abandoned....
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THE LATEST: Antitrust Agencies Show Frustration with Slow Divestitures
By Gregory E. Heltzer and Matt Evola on Jul 14, 2020
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently extracted a $3.5 million civil penalty from two companies involved in a gas station merger. The FTC asserts the companies violated their settlement agreement with the government, which required the divestment of 10 gas stations within 120 days from the date of the settlement agreement. The parties overshot...
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Close Scrutiny for Class Settlements Where Plaintiff Attorneys Take Lion’s Share
By Nicole Castle, Michelle Lowery, Matt Evola, Stephen Wu and McDermott Will & Emery on Jan 27, 2020
Posted In Cartel Enforcement, Private Litigation
Two recent US antitrust class action settlements drew additional scrutiny from federal judges, showing that the allocation of settlement funds between a proposed class and their attorneys will be carefully reviewed for fairness to class members.
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FTC and DOJ Draft Vertical Merger Guidelines Provide Additional Transparency to Agency Practice
By Gregory E. Heltzer, Jon B. Dubrow, Joel R. Grosberg and Matt Evola on Jan 14, 2020
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions
For the first time since the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) published non-horizontal merger guidelines in 1984, the DOJ and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued updated Vertical Merger Guidelines to explain how the antitrust agencies analyze vertical mergers. The guidelines were published in draft on January 10, 2020, and are now open for a...
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Recent Merger Reviews Demonstrate Increased FTC and DOJ Focus on Acquisitions of Nascent Competitors
By Jon B. Dubrow, Joel R. Grosberg, Matt Evola and Will Diaz on Jan 13, 2020
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions
Three recent antitrust merger reviews involving nascent competition demonstrate enforcers are paying close attention to acquisitions by industry leaders of emerging, but early-stage competitors. The US antitrust agencies have been criticized for allowing leading technology companies to extend their entrenched positions to multiple markets or technologies through acquisitions. We are now seeing regulators increasing their...
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Antitrust M&A Snapshot | DOJ Arbitrates Market Definition Dispute While EC Clears Acquisition of Broadband and Energy Networks
By Matt Evola and Max Küttner on Nov 27, 2019
Posted In DOJ Developments, EC Developments, EU Developments, FTC Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions
There was significant antitrust activity in the third quarter of 2019. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) continued an active docket challenging M&A transactions. DOJ is resolving antitrust reviews significantly faster than the FTC, following DOJ’s 2018 policy establishing a six-month target. The DOJ also made use,...
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THE LATEST: California Jury Rejects Robinson-Patman Act Claim Against 5-hour Energy Maker
By Matt Evola, Michelle Lowery and Stephen Wu on Oct 28, 2019
Posted In Distribution/Franchising
Family-owned wholesalers brought a Robinson-Patman claim against the maker of 5-hour Energy alleging discounts given to Costco amounted to illegal price discrimination. A jury in California rejected the claim after a fact-intensive analysis of competition and potential antitrust injury. WHAT HAPPENED: After seven hours of deliberations, a California jury decided that Living Essentials LLC, the...
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