Sky Blog
The Federal Trade Commission and the DOJ’s Antitrust Division recently announced two settlement agreements, signaling that this Administration is willing to resolve merger competition concerns — in appropriate cases — through negotiated divestiture remedies. These actions herald a return to …
The FTC and DOJ recently announced the first settlements of merger enforcement actions reached under the second Trump administration. These actions follow comments from leadership at the antitrust agencies expressing an openness to structural merger remedies, an important contrast to …
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 …
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 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 …
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 2023, leadership of the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice maintained an aggressive approach to merger enforcement, investigating and challenging transactions on the basis of a broad range of theories of harm articulated …
2022 was an active year for the U.S. federal antitrust enforcement agencies. There were important developments in all key areas of the agencies’ remit, from merger enforcement to civil conduct cases to criminal prosecutions. 2023 may prove to be one …
In April 2022, Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (DOJ) previewed the DOJ’s intent to more aggressively enforce the prohibition on interlocking directorates under Section 8 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. § 19. …
Biden-appointed antitrust officials have asserted, unfairly in our view, that private equity firms deserve heightened scrutiny when they engage in corporate transactions. For example, the head of the DOJ’s Antitrust Division said in an interview with The Financial Times earlier …
Under the Biden administration, the U.S. antitrust agencies are taking an aggressive approach to merger enforcement, and have outlined strategies that move away from historical merger review tools in favor of more enforcement-friendly standards. But recent court decisions have tested …
At a recent Enforcers Summit, leaders of various U.S. and international antitrust enforcement agencies set forth their enforcement priorities. The new heads of the U.S. antitrust agencies emphasized that the agencies are primed to litigate more cases, challenge more mergers, …
The Biden administration has demonstrated a clear pro-enforcement approach to antitrust, implementing numerous directives and changes, driven in part by concerns about the power of Big Tech, and by progressives who want antitrust enforcement to further their social goals.
These …
A growing literature highlights the important effect of economic and political policies on mergers and acquisitions (M&A). M&A often involves major issues of corporate investment and resource allocation, and so inefficient interference in the M&A market can have significant and …
Thank you [commissioners and staff] for the grace and patience you’ve displayed the last few months as my team and I have gotten up to speed on the agency’s work and processes. Navigating a leadership transition during a pandemic has …
On July 9, President Biden issued an Executive Order that announced a policy of increased antitrust enforcement across many industries. The DOJ Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission quickly followed with an announcement that they would jointly launch a
On February 4, Senator Amy Klobuchar introduced the Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act (CALERA), which provides for wide-ranging changes to the U.S. antitrust laws.[1] CALERA follows the release of a report last year by the staff of …
On June 22, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to enhance cooperation between the two agencies. According to the agencies’ …