HSR/Antitrust/Enforcement

  1. The FTC recognizes this policy could potentially have far-reaching implications across industries and encompass “functional non-competes.”  Wilkins explained that the proposed rule would apply to “all workers” who are “under the jurisdiction of the FTC,” whether an employee is paid, unpaid, or an independent contractor.  Throughout the interview, Wilkins described how other types of
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The FTC set its sights on non-compete agreements as it debuts its powers under Section 5 of the FTC Act—demanding more of employers than is required under traditional antitrust laws.  

Through Section 5 of the FTC Act, Congress affords the FTC the unique ability to identify and police against “unfair methods of competition,” beyond the contours of other antitrust statutes—namely, the Sherman and Clayton Acts. In the past, the FTC’s policy has been to employ Section 5 in a limited set of circumstances invoking “the promotion of consumer welfare.” In a statement made on November 10, 2022, the FTC shed its previous policy in favor of a more expansive and amorphous view of its statutory authority under Section 5. According to the FTC’s “non-exclusive set of examples of conduct,” unfair methods of competition include: (i) mergers and exclusive dealing arrangements that “have the tendency to ripen into violations of the antitrust laws;” (ii) “practices that facilitate tacit coordination;” and (iii) “parallel exclusionary conduct that may cause aggregate harm.” As a result of the FTC’s “know it when you see it” approach, practitioners and professionals were left in the dark as to how the FTC would choose to exercise its Section 5 authority.

Antitrust and tech is in the legal news almost daily, and often multiple times a day.  Here are a few recent developments with notable implications that may have flown under the radar: 1) renewed focus on gig economy issues; 2) potential enforcement efforts regarding director overlaps; and 3) challenges to MFN pricing. 

In 1976, Congress enacted the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (HSR). Under the HSR merger review process, parties to transactions above certain thresholds must provide advance notice to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) and may not complete the transaction until expiration of the statutory waiting period.

The FTC and DOJ retain jurisdiction…

On May 24, 2022, the FTC announced a widespread inquiry into the ongoing infant formula shortage. The agency had been tasked by the White House with investigating any price gouging or unfair market practices in the industry. The agency is seeking public comments on “various factors that may have contributed to the infant formula shortage…as well as its impact on families and retailers.”

In its press release, the agency identified issues of particular concern, including:

  • Fraud, deception, or scams consumers may have experienced when trying to buy infant formula,
  • Retailers’ experiences since the formula recall began in February,
  • How mergers and acquisitions, and FDA regulations, have affected the number of suppliers of infant formula, capital investment in the market, and the overall manufacturing capacity of suppliers, and
  • Whether regulatory barriers have blocked non-US companies from entrance to the market.

It used to be privacy was largely the domain of constitutional law and patient health care law: the Fourth Amendment, and then the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Today, privacy is the practice of navigating the state-by-state patchwork of data security laws and regulations, subject matter specific privacy laws…

The FTC has announced penalties in two separate enforcement actions totaling almost $2 million for alleged violations of the HSR Act. The matters: U.S. v. Clarence L. Werner c/o Werner Enterprises, Inc.; and U.S. v. Biglari Holdings Inc. include claims of failures to file notification under the HSR Act and failures to observe the required…

The FTC has announced penalties in two separate enforcement actions totaling almost $2 million for alleged violations of the HSR Act. The matters: U.S. v. Clarence L. Werner c/o Werner Enterprises, Inc.; and U.S. v. Biglari Holdings Inc. include claims of failures to file notification under the HSR Act and failures to observe the required…

2021 will be remembered in antitrust law. Not since the 1970s has there been so much chatter over the fundamental purposes of antitrust policy, or such potential for actual sea change.

Half a century ago, Robert Bork and the Chicago School argued that antitrust law had lost its way and should focus on consumer welfare. Bork’s view was that antitrust enforcement was getting in the way of legitimate competition, and the U.S. Supreme Court was quick to embrace the consumer welfare standard.

With a rash of changes since Chair Lina Khan took command, the Federal Trade Commission is proving the maxim that the only certainty is uncertainty.

Its new policy of issuing warning letters to deals that have successfully navigated the Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger review process — announced in an FTC “Competition Matters” blog post Aug. 3 — is injecting new and unnecessary uncertainty on parties just trying to get the deal done.

A look behind and into the FTC’s new practice and its early and likely impacts on mergers and acquisitions reveals some potentially unintended consequences.