Yesterday, August 28th, the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (the “DOJ”) (the “Antitrust Agencies”), together with the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) and National Labor Relations Board (the “NLRB”), signed a new agreement (the Memorandum of Understanding or “MOU”) that seeks to enhance the ability of the FTC
Antitrust Law Blog
Current Antitrust & Competition News & Regulatory Developments
Latest from Antitrust Law Blog - Page 3
Final Word on Final Rule? Texas District Court Eviscerates FTC’s Non-Compete Ban
On July 3, 2024, Judge Ada Brown of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas entered a limited, preliminary injunction barring the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) from enforcing its controversial Final Rule (“Rule”) which purports to ban almost all non-compete agreements. Importantly, Judge Brown’s preliminary order only enjoined enforcement of the Final Rule…
Maturing UK Competition Appeal Tribunal Collective Proceedings Process Sees Uptick in Cases
The United Kingdom remains a key European jurisdiction for competition damages actions, also in a post-Brexit world. In particular the number of collective proceedings for competition damages has significantly increased. This is in particular true for stand-alone claims which do not rely on an infringement finding by a competition regulator. Currently there are nearly fifty…
California Attorney General Advocates for Greater Antitrust Enforcement in Private Equity in Healthcare
On June 6, 2024, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced that he led a multistate coalition of eleven (11) state attorneys general in in submitting a comment letter (the “Comment Letter”) in response to the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (together the “Agencies”)…
What the FTC’s Noncompete Ban Means for Healthcare
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued its Final Rule banning employers from imposing post-employment noncompete requirements on their workers (the “Final Rule”). The FTC has indicated that it will continue to prioritize enforcement in the healthcare industry, with objectives seeming to include alleviating physician shortages and improving access to healthcare. What the Final…
The FTC Hosts Workshop on Private Equity in Health Care
On March 5, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“the FTC”) hosted a public workshop titled “Private Capital, Public Impact: An FTC Workshop on Private Equity in Health Care”, which covered the impact of private equity investment on the health care system. The workshop included panelists from the FTC, the Department of Justice (“the DOJ”), the…
Webinar: Navigating Increased Scrutiny for Health Care Deals in 2024
Are you considering a transaction in the healthcare industry? …
China Raises Turnover Threshold for Anti-Monopoly Filing in M&A Deals
On January 26, 2024, the State Council of China published the “Regulations of the Filing Threshold for Operators’ Concentration (2024 Revision)” (the “New Filing Threshold”), which took effect on the same day. This amendment to the filing thresholds for operators’ concentration will enhance the allocation of anti-monopoly enforcement resources, and represents another step China takes…
The EU Commission Gets Serious About Foreign Direct Investment Screening
As part of its European Economic Security Package, the European Commission (‘Commission’) has recently proposed a number of legislative proposals and White Papers intended to better protect Europe’s strategic interests. We have covered the wider initiative here.…
The Wait is Over: DOJ and FTC Issue Final Merger Guidelines
On December 18, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice (the “Agencies”) jointly issued Final Merger Guidelines, following a public comment period on the Proposed Merger Guidelines first issued in July. The Final Merger Guidelines update and replace the 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines and the rescinded 2020 Vertical Merger Guidelines. The Final…