Tag Archives: consent decree

The Trump DOJ’s View on Merger Enforcement and Remedies Explained

By Danyll Foix on November 20, 2017 Posted in Merger Review

President Trump’s head of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, Makan Delrahim, recently explained that the division will cut back on behavioral commitments such as consent orders regulating conduct and will instead rely more on structural changes such as divestitures to remedy merger concerns. This could signal significant changes in how the DOJ resolves concerns … Continue Reading

FTC Accepts Practical ‘Failing Firm’ Defense in Ending Challenge of Nonreportable Transaction

By Danyll Foix on October 18, 2016 Posted in Healthcare, Merger Review, Premerger Notification

The Federal Trade Commission’s recently announced proposed settlement of its challenge of CentraCare Health’s acquisition of St. Cloud Medical Group (SCMG) is doubly noteworthy. The settlement ends the challenge of a transaction that apparently was not reportable under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act, and the settlement is premised on a “failing firm” defense that infrequently is … Continue Reading

Fix My Merger – Lessons from FTC Bureau Director Feinstein on the Use of Consent Orders to Remedy Anticompetitive Mergers

By Jonathan Lewis and Lee Simowitz on September 18, 2013 Posted in Government Investigations, Merger Review, Premerger Notification

In her first speech since becoming Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition, Deborah Feinstein highlighted five benefits arising from addressing antitrust violations through consent orders and dispelled a number of “persistent myths” about their use. While emphasizing the FTC “employs a rigorous case-by-case approach to law enforcement decisions,” Director Feinstein explained that … Continue Reading

“Highly Unusual” Circumstances End FTC Challenge to Phoebe Putney Acquisition

By Jonathan Lewis and Lee Simowitz on August 29, 2013 Posted in Government Investigations, Healthcare, Merger, Merger Review, Uncategorized

After running the table in the Supreme Court with a unanimous decision, which we covered, and then convincing a district court judge in Georgia to halt further consolidation of Phoebe Putney Health System (“Phoebe Putney”) and Palmyra Medical Center (“Palmyra”), the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) recently agreed to settle its antitrust challenge of Phoebe Putney’s … Continue Reading

FTC Seeks to Undo Another Small, Completed Transaction

By Danyll Foix on July 25, 2013 Posted in FTC Act, Merger, Merger Review, Premerger Notification

This week, the FTC announced a proposed consent agreement to alter another completed transaction that was too small to be reported under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (“HSR Act”). The FTC’s complaint alleged that Solera Holdings Inc. and Actual Systems of America, Inc., through their subsidiaries, were competing providers of yard management systems software (“YMS”) used by automotive recycling … Continue Reading