Sky Blog
On January 10, 2025, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable, American Investment Council and a local chamber of commerce filed a complaint challenging the new Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) rules governing premerger notification. Plaintiffs allege that the new rules violate the …
The digital economy has put antitrust regulation in the spotlight, with increasingly dominant technology companies – such as Amazon, Google, Facebook (Meta), Apple, and Microsoft – reviving concerns about private monopolies reminiscent of Standard Oil and AT&T. Yet the enforcement …
In recent years, big tech companies have faced growing scrutiny over their market power and influence. Yet they continue to expand, often using creative strategies to bypass regulatory roadblocks. One such strategy involves the use of special purpose acquisition companies …
On November 14, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Antitrust Division (the “Division”) released guidance for the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs in Criminal Antitrust Investigations (the “Guidance”). The Guidance will be used by the Division in assessing the …
On November 12, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) published updated guidance on how the DOJ’s Antitrust Division will evaluate corporate compliance programs when making charging decisions and sentencing recommendations relating to criminal antitrust violations, such as bid-rigging, price-fixing, …
Evidence of a rise in corporate market power has drawn the attention of U.S. policymakers, prompting antitrust regulators to more closely scrutinize mergers and acquisitions (M&A) that consolidate product markets. Such consolidations are believed to be behind the increased market …
Companies acquire or merge with each other for a variety of worthwhile reasons, ranging from managing uncertainty to gaining scale to accessing new resources. They also do it for less desirable reasons, including to gain market and political power, raise …
Year after year, the world’s activist-investor community meets at the Active-Passive Investor Summit, the premier shareholder activist conference in New York City, organized by research and advisory service 13D Monitor. Yet at this year’s gathering, on October 22, the mood …
On October 10, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), with the concurrence of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), announced the FTC’s unanimous vote to adopt a final rule implementing significant changes to the reporting obligations under …
The European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) has upheld an appeal against the European Commission’s ability to accept referrals under Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation (“EUMR”) from national competition authorities who are not competent to …
On August 20, 2024, Judge Ada Brown of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a permanent injunction setting aside the Federal Trade Commission’s final rule banning non-compete agreements in Ryan LLC v. FTC. Last …
In a decision issued on July 23, 2024 (the ATS Decision), U.S. District Judge Kelley Brisbon Hodge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied Plaintiff ATS Tree Services LLC’s motion for a stay of effective date and preliminary injunction against …
It is a privilege to join you today and talk about the work of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.
The purpose of this strike force — to “mak[e] sure corporations are held accountable when they try to rip off Americans”
On May 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) jointly announced a request for members of the public to provide information that the agencies can use “to identify serial acquisitions and …
In a public meeting Tuesday, a divided Federal Trade Commission voted along party lines to issue a final rule prohibiting non-compete clauses for nearly all U.S. workers. The FTC previously published the proposed ban in January 2023, drawing thousands of …
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in common ownership, where large institutional investors hold substantial shares in several companies within the same sector. Theoretically, common ownership may result in higher product prices, as common owners might favor …
How can antitrust best serve social goals? For the many who argue that market power yields greater wealth inequality, vigorous antitrust enforcement is necessary to close the gap. Yet equality is not a consideration for current antitrust policy, which …
In March 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) revised its Justice Manual to include a new safe harbor for acquiring companies that self-report criminal conduct by an acquired company identified in due diligence (the “Safe Harbor”). When the Safe …