The US Senate increases merger filing fees for large merger deals

Filing fees under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act have not been altered for 20 years, but that is about to change, and dramatically in 2023. President Biden is expected to sign into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, which includes the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022 ("Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act"). The Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act, among other changes, will increase HSR filing fees for many transactions, with US filing fees reaching $2.25 million for any transaction with a value of $5 billion or more. [1] This is a substantial bump over the highest merger filing fee now ($280,000) and will increase resources for the US antitrust agencies to pursue their aggressive