After the Federal Trade Commission’s investigation of Hertz Global Holdings, Inc.’s purchase of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc., the FTC announced that the parties entered into a settlement, where Hertz will sell some of its holdings in order to relieve FTC’s antitrust concerns. FTC began its investigation of the purchase out of fears that the […]
Category Archives: Merger Review
Hertz Agrees to Sell Some of Its Holdings to Relieve FTC’s Antitrust Concerns
November 30, 2012 – 1:18 pm
Avery Dennison & 3M Scrap Division Purchase Plans
November 7, 2012 – 11:54 am
After initially indicating that they would restructure their deal in light of Department of Justice antitrust concerns, Avery Dennison Corp. and 3M Co. have now decided to abandon 3M’s proposed purchase of Avery Dennison’s office and consumer products business division. The DOJ claimed that the deal would eliminate 3M’s main rival and give the giant […]
Supreme Court Will Address Antitrust State Action Exemption
October 24, 2012 – 8:28 am
The state action exemption to the federal antitrust laws holds that governments do not violate the antitrust laws, firms do. State laws with anticompetitive impacts thus do not run afoul of federal law when they restrain trade even though the same conduct by private actors would violate the law. The exemption is entirely judge-made and […]
FTC Proposes Closer Scrutiny of Drug Patent Licensing
September 11, 2012 – 10:36 am
The Federal Trade Commission has proposed a rule requiring drug companies to report transactions in which a drug company licenses another to exclusively market and sell a drug while retaining the right to manufacture it. Historically, the sale of a patent was a reportable transaction under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Pre-merger Notification Act, which requires the reporting […]
$550 Million Label Deal Proceeds Despite DOJ’s Antitrust Concerns
September 7, 2012 – 11:52 am
The day after the U.S. Department of Justice announced that 3M Co. scrapped its $550 million purchase of rival Avery Dennison Corp.’s sticky note business over antitrust concerns, the companies vowed to clear regulatory obstacles and finalize the deal. After the DOJ threatened to sue to block the deal on the grounds that the transaction would give 3M a […]
Eleventh Circuit Upheld Unwinding of a $78 Million Merger of Battery Separator Competitors
July 18, 2012 – 2:49 pm
In Polypore International Inc. v. Federal Trade Commission, the Eleventh Circuit upheld the FTC’s ruling, requiring Polypore International Inc. to divest of assets gained in its $76 million acquisition of Microporous Products LP. In 2008, The FTC filed a complaint to block Polypore’s $76 million purchase of Microporous because the deal substantially reduced competition in […]
Brazil Raises Merger Turnover Antitrust Review Thresholds
July 2, 2012 – 4:48 pm
Brazil’s Ministries of Justice and Finance raised the thresholds for transactions to trigger a review under the country’s new preclosing merger control system. Under the new law, the minimum levels of turnover needed to require an antitrust review went from 400 million reais ($201 million) for one party and 30 million reais for the other […]
US Supreme Court Grants Cert. to Resolve State Action and Class Action Disputes
July 2, 2012 – 4:40 pm
In the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) prosecution of the Phoebe Putney Health System Inc. merger, the U.S. Supreme Court will clarify the degree of specificity that state lawmakers must use in adopting an anticompetitive state regulation in order to secure an exemption from the federal antitrust laws. The Eleventh Circuit upheld Phoebe Putney’s $195 million […]
Court Grants FTC’s Preliminary Injunction Request, Temporarily Blocking Hospital Merger
April 22, 2012 – 2:59 pm
In Federal Trade Commission v. OSF Healthcare Systems et al., Northern District of Illinois Judge Frederick J. Kapala, granted the Federal Trade Commission’s move for a preliminary injunction, temporarily blocking a proposed merger of two Illinois hospitals. The FTC filed suit to challenge a proposed merger between OSF Healthcare System and Rockford Health System, claiming […]
FTC Sues to Halt OmniCare’s Bid to Acquire Pharmerica, Citing Effects on Medicare Part D Drug Plan
March 2, 2012 – 3:47 pm
The Federal Trade Commission filed an administrative complaint seeking to block Omnicare Inc.’s proposed $440.8 million acquisition of PharMerica Corp. The FTC alleged that Omnicare would control over half of the U.S. market for pharmacy services at nursing homes and other long-term facilities where patients receive prescription drugs from sponsors of the government’s Medicare Part […]