FTC Revises Filing Thresholds For Antitrust Review

The FTC has voted unanimously to approve a Federal Register notice announcing revised thresholds for the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act.

The Hart-Scott-Rodino Act requires persons contemplating certain large mergers or acquisitions to notify the FTC and the Assistant Attorney General, and to wait a designated period of time before consummating such transactions.  The threshold for reporting proposed mergers and acquisitions decreased from $65.2 million to $63.4 million.  Several additional thresholds were also revised and can be found in the notice.

The revised thresholds will apply to all transactions that close on or after the effective date of the notice.  According to an FTC press release, the notice will be published in the Federal Register shortly and will become effective 30 days after publication.

The FTC also unanimously approved a Federal Register notice announcing revised thresholds that trigger the prohibition on interlocking directorates under Section 8 of the Clayton Act.  The new thresholds are $25,841,000 for Section 8(a)(1) and $2,584,100 for Section 8(a)(2)(A).  According to the FTC press release, the notice will be published in the Federal Register shortly and will become effective upon publication.

The Clayton Act requires that these thresholds be revised annually by the FTC based on the change in gross national product.