George Paul

Climate change has shifted investor focus to how companies incorporate ESG factors into their business strategy. Certain antitrust authorities, governments, and academics have discussed relaxing competition laws to grant exemptions from competition law to support sustainability and to (...)

On January 21, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the annual changes to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act notification thresholds. The FTC is required by law to revise the jurisdictional thresholds annually, based on the change in gross national product. Accordingly, the 2022 (...)

Application of the Proper ‘Outer Boundary’ of Antitrust Liability for Alleged Refusals to Deal in New York v Facebook* Introduction The States brought an antitrust complaint against Facebook alleging that various conduct violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act. The ICLE brief addresses the (...)

On October 25, 2021, a deeply divided FTC voted 3-2 to enact a major policy change relevant to every party involved in settling a merger investigation with the FTC. Earlier this year, the FTC signaled its intent to bring back an old practice of mandatory prior approval and notice provisions in (...)

No-poach agreements on the European Commission dawn raid radar* In a speech on 22 October 2021, EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager revealed that the European Commission was planning a series of dawn raids for the months to come. She highlighted that the European Commission is not (...)

On Tuesday, August 3, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission announced a new approach for merger investigations that the FTC does not complete during the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (HSR) waiting period—the FTC may advise merging parties via a Warning Letter that its investigation remains open despite (...)

A new Executive Order signed by President Biden includes 72 initiatives instructing more than a dozen federal agencies, including the US Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, to, according to the White House’s Fact Sheet, "promptly tackle some of the most pressing competition (...)

While Congress has been the epicenter of an ongoing antitrust debate—with US legislators on both sides of the aisle urging vast reforms—the New York State legislature is pursuing a state bill that would arguably ensnare more conduct and transactions in antitrust law’s web than anything (...)

The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") and Department of Justice ("DOJ") announced today that they are temporarily suspending any grants of early termination under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ("HSR Act"). The HSR Act is the federal premerger notification program, which requires parties to notify (...)

On February 1, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the annual changes to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act notification thresholds. The FTC is required by law to revise the jurisdictional thresholds annually, based on the change in gross national product. Accordingly, the 2021 (...)

Last week, in response to the outbreak of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the antitrust agencies in the United States and European Union issued policies that will affect, and may delay, merger filings and reviews. On March 13, 2020, the US Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and Federal Trade (...)

On January 26, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the annual changes to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act notification thresholds. The FTC is required by law to revise the jurisdictional thresholds annually, based on the change in gross national product. Accordingly, the 2018 (...)

This article has been nominated for the 2015 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. Advertising giants Omnicom Group and Publicis Groupe called off their US$35 billion merger on May 8, 2014, terminating a transaction that would have created (...)

If you thought not having to report your proposed acquisition to the US Department of Justice and the US Federal Trade Commission meant never worrying about antitrust issues, think again. The DOJ’s recent pursuit of Bazaarvoice, Inc. in connection with its acquisition of PowerReviews, Inc. (...)

This article has been nominated for the 2012 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. New rules issued by the Federal Trade Commission on July 7, 2011 will streamline some information required for the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (“HSR Act”) (...)

On June 1st 2011, the merger control provisions of the Indian Competition Act 2002 will finally enter into force. If you are contemplating M&A activity with binding agreements being signed as of tomorrow, you will need to carefully consider this new merger control regime. The Competition (...)

Federal Appeals Court Clarifies the Bounds of Lawful Information Exchanges in Pre-Merger Due Diligence* Information sharing between merging parties is a crucial part of pre-merger due diligence, yet courts have rarely weighed in to clarify when, if ever, such information exchanges run afoul (...)

According to published reports, the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has opened an investigation into possible collusion among various hedge funds that trade euro contracts. The inquiry comes amid a sharp decline in the value of the euro, which has fallen approximately (...)

On May 11, 2009, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), in a speech by new Assistant Attorney General Christine A. Varney and a press release issued later in the day, formally withdrew the report entitled Competition and Monopoly: Single-Firm Conduct under Section 2 of (...)

Introduction Businesses planning equity investments or M&A activity should take note of recent US antitrust developments regarding pre-merger notifications. On February 28, 2008, revised Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (“HSR”) jurisdictional thresholds took effect. (Press Release, Federal Trade (...)

Marking an important reform to US antitrust policy, regulators at the Federal Trade Commission (‘FTC’) have announced changes meant to simplify the process of in-depth merger reviews for foreign and domestic companies. In February, the FTC, the agency that shares antitrust oversight of (...)