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Antitrust M&A Snapshot | Q4 2023

Topics covered in this edition:

  • New Merger Guidelines Released
  • FTC Focused on Pharmaceutical Companies
  • FTC Targets “Moat-Building” Mergers
  • Fifth Circuit Fuels FTC’s Vertical Mergers Agenda
  • FTC Losing Streak Reverses During the Fourth Quarter
  • Ex post Review in the Merger Control Sphere Occurring More and More Frequently

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The Fix Is In – Key Learnings From Recent Vertical Merger Challenges

Vertical mergers are inherently more difficult for the government to litigate than horizonal mergers. After not litigating a vertical merger case since the 1970s, the Federal Trade Commission and the US Department of Justice have recently tried several matters.

In this Westlaw Today article, Jon Dubrow, Stephen Wu, Matt Evola and Bailey Sanders discuss key insights from these cases and provide useful guidance for companies contemplating such transactions.

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Year in Review: Criminal Enforcement by the DOJ Antitrust Division in 2023

When it comes to antitrust criminal enforcement, 2023 will be remembered as the year when the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division redefined and tested the outer boundaries of its authority. This report looks back at the key events from the DOJ’s year in criminal antitrust enforcement.

Here’s a glimpse of what’s inside:

  • Despite four straight losses and a voluntary dismissal in labor market cases, the DOJ remains undeterred in bringing additional criminal wage-fixing and no-poach suits.
  • DOJ’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force secured several guilty pleas and stiff penalties in 2023 and will most likely continue pursuing aggressive investigative and litigation strategies moving forward.
  • The nearly decade-long investigation of the generic drug industry appears to be ending after the DOJ recently resolved and dismissed the remaining cases.
  • Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco highlighted cybersecurity, tech and national security as areas of heightened risk and thus heightened scrutiny, so corporations in these markets should take heed of the DOJ’s emphasis on corporate compliance in 2024.

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FTC Announces Annual Merger Notification Threshold and Filing Fee Adjustments

On January 22, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced increased jurisdictional thresholds, increased 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 Act compels transacting parties to notify the FTC and US Department of Justice (DOJ) of their intent to consummate a transaction if such a transaction meets or exceeds certain jurisdictional thresholds, barring an exemption. The adjusted thresholds apply to all transactions that close on or after the effective date, which will be 30 days after the notice is published in the Federal Register.

The FTC amends the merger notification jurisdictional thresholds on an annual basis based on changes in the gross national product (GNP).

  • The base statutory size-of-transaction threshold, the lowest threshold requiring notification, will increase to $119.5 million.
  • The upper statutory size-of-transaction test, requiring notification for all transactions that exceed the threshold (regardless of the size-of-person test being satisfied), will increase to $478 million.
  • The statutory size-of-person lower and upper thresholds (which apply to deals valued above $119.5 million but not above $478 million) will increase to $23.9 million and $239 million, respectively.

Merger Filing Fee Increases

Following the passage of the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act, the FTC is required to revise filing fee thresholds and filing fee amounts each year. Filing fee threshold changes are based on the percentage change in GNP, and filing fee amounts are based on the percentage increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). As with the merger notification thresholds, the filing fee threshold and filing fee amount adjustments take effect 30 days after publication of the notice in the Federal Register.

The revised filing fee thresholds and filing fee amounts are provided in the table below.




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New FTC, DOJ Merger Guidelines Create Challenges and Opportunities

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and US Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) issued their updated Merger Guidelines on December 18, 2023. These guidelines represent a significantly more enforcement-oriented approach than the prior guidelines, and they largely follow the contours of draft guidelines released in July 2023. Companies should be aware of the Merger Guidelines and their implications as they formulate strategies for assessing potential merger and acquisition options.

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Antitrust M&A Snapshot | Q2 2023

Topics covered in this edition:

  • FTC Unveils Proposal Detailing Significant Changes to Hart-Scott-Rodino Act Merger Notifications
  • Assa Abloy Settlement Raises Questions on Litigating the Fix and DOJ Consent Decrees
  • Pharmaceutical Industry Remains in Regulators’ Crosshairs
  • “Whole of Government” Competition Mandate Can Impact Deals the FTC and DOJ Do Not Challenge
  • FTC’s Constitutionality Comes Under Fire—Again
  • Divergent Viewpoints in Video Games Sector: Microsoft’s Takeover of Activision Blizzard
  • New Merger Simplification Package from the EC

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Proposed Merger Guidelines Outline Fundamental Change of Approach to Merger Investigation and Enforcement

Mergers and acquisitions will continue to face strong headwinds at the Federal Trade Commission and the US Department of Justice under new proposed Merger Guidelines released on July 19, 2023. The Proposed Guidelines embody the antitrust agencies’ aggressive posture toward merger enforcement under the Biden administration. This On the Subject highlights the most significant changes in the Proposed Guidelines and what steps companies contemplating mergers and other transactions should take in the face of these changes.

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FTC Releases Proposed Changes to Premerger Notification Form and Process

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has proposed, for comment, significant changes to the information and documents to be submitted with premerger filings—even in transactions that do not raise significant antitrust issues. The changes proposed may not take effect and may be different when finalized. But if promulgated as proposed, every Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) filing will be more difficult and time-consuming, and transactions that might raise even marginal antitrust issues will require significant up-front work.

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The Potential Benefits of New EU Merger Control Rules

The European Commission recently adopted and published a package to simplify the procedures for reviewing concentrations under the EU Merger Regulation. The goal of the package is to simplify merger review procedures, with a targeted 25% reduction on reporting requirements.

In this Law360 article, McDermott Partners Jacques Buhart, Stéphane Dionnet and Frédéric Pradelles examine the new regulations and analyze their impact on businesses and advisers.

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EU Commission Adopts New Merger Simplification Package

On April 20, 2023, the EU Commission (Commission) adopted and published a package to simplify the procedures for reviewing concentrations under Regulation (EC) 139/2004 of January 20, 2004 (European Union Merger Regulation – EUMR). This package includes a set of three materials comprising (i) a revised Merger Implementing Regulation (Implementing Regulation), (ii) a Notice on Simplified Procedure (Notice), and (iii) a Communication on the Transmission of Documents to the Commission (Communication). The new notification forms (Form CO, Short Form CO, Form RS and Form RM) are also provided as Annexes to the Implementing Regulation.

The core objective of the package is to simplify merger review procedures, with a targeted 25% reduction on reporting requirements. This evolution is more than welcome, especially in light of the very recent Regulation on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market (FSR) which recently entered into force, imposing additional burdens on M&A transactions. We discuss this recent entry into force of the new FSR in our last article, available here.

This new package intends to bring significant benefits for businesses and advisers in terms of easing preparatory work and related costs. Relieving this administrative burden lying on the parties to a concentration should hopefully speed up the approval process by the Commission. The new package will apply from September 1, 2023.

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