Recent Developments In U.S. Antitrust Merger Review and Enforcement

A series of recent enforcement actions by the U.S. antitrust enforcement agencies – the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) – are notable for multimillion-dollar fines awarded, consented to, or sought for violations of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act (HSR Act) or agency orders. Specifically, this White Paper will discuss a recent HSR gun-jumping violation, the DOJ’s suit against Smithfield Foods for failure to file under the HSR Act, and a significant fine for violation of an FTC order.

Three recent FTC merger challenges and one DOJ consent decree provide insight into how the agencies define markets in merger review. This White Paper summarizes the agencies’ position in the FTC’s Puerto Rico supermarkets case, the FTC’s challenge of pickle and ice cream mergers, and the DOJ’s challenge of a merger involving Spanish-language radio.

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