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.
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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THE LATEST: DOJ Distinguishes ‘No-Poach’ Agreements
By Matt Evola and Nicole Castle on Mar 14, 2019
Posted In DOJ Developments, Private Litigation
WHAT HAPPENED: The Department of Justice filed a Statement of Interest in three related cases in the Eastern District of Washington yesterday dealing with alleged “no-poach” (or non-solicitation) agreements between franchisors like Carl’s Jr, Auntie Anne’s and Arby’s and their franchisees. In the statement, the DOJ distinguished between “naked” no-poach agreements between competitors and the...
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Notification Threshold Under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act Increased to $90 Million
By Gregory E. Heltzer and Matt Evola on Feb 15, 2019
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments
The US Federal Trade Commission recently announced increased thresholds for the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 and for determining whether parties trigger the prohibition against interlocking directors under Section 8 of the Clayton Act. Notification Threshold Adjustments The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced revised thresholds for the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976...
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THE LATEST: DOJ Announces New Model Timing Agreement for Merger Investigations
By Gregory E. Heltzer and Matt Evola on Dec 4, 2018
Posted In DOJ Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions
Consistent with Assistant Attorney General Delrahim’s speech on September 25, 2018, the DOJ released a new Model Timing Agreement which sets out that it will require fewer custodians, take fewer depositions, and commit to a shorter overall review period in exchange for the provision of detailed information from the merging parties earlier in the Second...
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THE LATEST: DOJ and FTC Take Divergent Positions on Intellectual Property Issue
By Matt Evola on Oct 25, 2018
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, IP Antitrust
In testimony before the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and Chairman Joseph Simons from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) staked out differing interpretations of when antitrust considerations are relevant in standard setting agreements restricted by fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) rates, a rare...
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THE LATEST: FTC Continues Focus on Improving Procedures for Evaluating Remedy Packages
By Gregory E. Heltzer and Matt Evola on Sep 10, 2018
Posted In FTC Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions
WHAT HAPPENED The FTC posted a short article indicating that after finalizing a settlement package with FTC Staff, it takes approximately four weeks for the Directors of the Bureau of Competition and the Bureau of Economics (the Directors), as well as the Commission to review the Directors’ recommendations and vote on the package. The FTC...
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THE LATEST: Class Certification Denied – Indirect Purchases Fail to Substantiate Link between Higher Input Costs and Higher Product Prices
By Matt Evola on Mar 9, 2018
Posted In Private Litigation
Indirect purchaser plaintiffs’ motion for class certification in a lithium ion battery suit was denied for failing to show concrete evidence linking increased input costs to increased end-product prices; theoretical inference is not enough. WHAT HAPPENED: The US District Court for the Northern District of California denied a motion for class certification for a proposed...
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