The Covington View
Significant changes to the U.S. merger notification regime under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (“HSR”) Act are currently anticipated to go into effect on February 10, 2025, based on an update to the Federal Register publication schedule.
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced the Final Rule implementing the changes to the HSR notification form on October 10, 2024…
Continue Reading New HSR Requirements Set to Become Effective on February 10, 2025On October 10, 2024, the federal antitrust agencies finalized the most significant changes to the U.S. merger notification regime since the enactment of the Hart-Scott-Rodino (“HSR”) Act in 1976. The Final Rule—which was issued by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) with the concurrence of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) (together, “the Agencies”)—will significantly increase the burden on companies whose transactions must be notified to the Agencies pursuant to the HSR Act.Continue Reading FTC and DOJ Announce Final Rule Reshaping HSR Filing Requirements
In the past several months, two state courts in the District of Columbia and California decided motions to dismiss in cases alleging that the use of certain revenue management software violated state antitrust laws in the residential property rental management and health insurance industries. In both industries, parallel class actions are pending in federal court alleging that the same software products facilitate per se illegal hub-and-spoke price-fixing conspiracies under Section 1 of the Sherman Act. These two state court decisions may preview how federal courts handle similar questions in the federal cases.Continue Reading State Courts Dismiss Claims Involving the Use of Revenue Management Software in Residential Rental and Health Insurance Industries
On November 3, 2023, FTC Chair Lina Khan sent a letter addressed to Representative Thomas P. Tiffany describing the FTC’s merger enforcement program during her tenure at the agency. The letter was a response to an inquiry from seven members of congress for information about the costs associated with certain litigated merger challenges brought by…
Continue Reading Recently Published FTC Data Confirm Historically Low Number of Merger Enforcement ActionsOn October 17, 2023, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) published a report on mergers and acquisitions (“M&A”) in the defense industrial base. The report details the current M&A review process of the Department of Defense (“DOD”) and provides recommendations to proactively assess M&A competition risks.
Currently, DOD’s Industrial Base Policy (“IBP”) office, with input…
Continue Reading GAO Recommends Increased Guidance for DOD Mergers & Acquisitions ReviewA glance at headlines regarding competition law could easily give the impression that U.S. antitrust agencies have embarked on a record number of merger challenges in recent years. But the numbers tell a different story: in the first two years of the current Administration, the rate of merger-related federal enforcement actions has actually decreased. While…
Continue Reading Biden Antitrust Agencies Bring Fewer Merger Enforcement Actions, but Attempt to Chill Deal Activity in Other WaysOn Episode 20 of Covington’s Inside Privacy Audiocast, Dan Cooper, Co-Chair of Covington’s Data Privacy and Cyber Security practice, and Christian Ahlborn, Partner in Covington’s Competition practice, discuss the recently enacted EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) in the first part of our “Competition and Privacy” mini series.
For more information on the DMA…
The UK’s NSI Act comes into force on January 4th, 2022. In these brief audio recordings, our team sets out what companies in the energy, life sciences and technology sectors need to know about the UK’s newly expanded investment control regime. For further details contact any member of our London team.
In this episode, our…
Continue Reading The UK’s National Security and Investment Act Audiocast Series: Episode 3 – Technology
The UK’s NSI Act comes into force on January 4th, 2022. In these brief audio recordings, our team sets out what companies in the energy, life sciences and technology sectors need to know about the UK’s newly expanded investment control regime. For further details contact any member of our London team.
In this episode, our…
Continue Reading The UK’s National Security and Investment Act Audiocast Series: Episode 2 – Life Sciences
The UK’s NSI Act comes into force on January 4th, 2022. In these brief audio recordings, our team sets out what companies in the energy, life sciences and technology sectors need to know about the UK’s newly expanded investment control regime. For further details contact any member of our London team.
In this episode, our…
Continue Reading The UK’s National Security and Investment Act Audiocast Series: Episode 1 – Energy
