Antitrust

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The filing by the DOJ of a complaint in federal court on April 4, 2016 against ValueAct — claiming that ValueAct’s purchase of shares of two public companies violated the HSR Act’s notification and waiting period requirements and seeking $19 million in civil penalties (based on the $16,000 per day penalty provisions of the HSR Act) – has the potential to have an immediate impact on the tactics used by brand name “activist hedge funds,” such as ValueAct, to accumulate shares without prior notice to either the issuers in question or the market generally.
Continue Reading What the ValueAct Complaint Means for Activism Tactics and the SEC’s Beneficial Ownership Reporting Regime

The FTC has settled an enforcement action against Third Point Funds and their management company related to their acquisition of stock in Yahoo! Inc.

Based on the FTC’s press release, the funds had acquired shares in Yahoo! that exceeded the requirements for pre-acquisition filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act.  (Filing is currently required prior to acquiring more than $76.3m worth of shares.  Notice of the planned acquisition must be given to the target company prior to filing, potentially providing a very early notification to the target of the acquisition of its shares by an activist.)  To avoid this filing requirement, the Third Point funds relied on the “investment only” exception, which permits investors to acquire up to 10% of an issuer’s stock without observing the HSR Act’s notice and waiting period requirements – so long as the investor’s intent is passive.
Continue Reading Third Point Settles FTC Enforcement Action – Will HSR Serve as Early Notice of Activist Stakebuilding?

Directors of public companies are increasingly facing pressure from hedge fund and institutional stockholders to engage in accretive combinations with competitors.  But they must balance this pressure against the willingness of antitrust regulators in the United States, Europe, China and beyond to delay transactions and either require significant divestitures or conduct remedies or just block these combinations outright. 
Continue Reading Delaware Chancery Court Provides Guidance on Fulfillment of Fiduciary Duties When Evaluating Antitrust Risk

On March 27, 2013, China’s Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) published for public comment “Rules on Attaching Restrictive Conditions to Concentrations between Undertakings (Draft for Comment)” (the “Draft Rules”). As the first comprehensive guidance on merger remedies under the Chinese Anti-Monopoly Law (the “AML”), the Draft Rules address a wide range of issues, including the design, implementation, monitoring, modification and waiver of merger remedies, as well as liability for breach.
Continue Reading MOFCOM Solicits Comments on Draft Merger Remedies Rules

On January 10, 2013, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced new thresholds for pre-merger notifications under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (“the HSR Act”).  Most significantly, the FTC announced that the minimum “size-of-transaction” threshold has increased from $68.2 million to $70.9 million.  The new thresholds will take effect on Monday, February 11, 2013.
Continue Reading FTC Announces Revised Hart-Scott-Rodino Notification Thresholds Effective as of February 11, 2013