Archives: Government Investigations

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Antitrust Division Announces Newfound Intent to Pursue Monopolization Cases Criminally

By BakerHostetler on March 4, 2022 Posted in Antitrust & Politics, Antitrust Compliance, Government Investigations

This week, during a panel discussion at the American Bar Association’s annual National Institute on White Collar Crime, Antitrust Division Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard Powers sent shockwaves through the defense bar with a surprising revelation. Speaking about the Antitrust Division’s plans for vigorous enforcement, he revealed that the Division intends to use its power to … Continue Reading

New Executive Order Targeting Noncompete Agreements Foreshadows Significant Issues for Employers

By BakerHostetler, Joyce Ackerbaum Cox, Meagan Martin and John Siegal on July 21, 2021 Posted in Government Investigations

On July 9, 2021, President Biden issued a sweeping Executive Order aimed at promoting competition in the American economy. Within the Executive Order, President Biden specifically encourages the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to regulate noncompetition agreements (generally referred to as “noncompetes”). Read the full Alert.… Continue Reading

‘Tryin’ to Loosen My Load’ – FTC’s New CID Process May Reduce Your Antitrust Investigation Burden*

By Danyll Foix on August 7, 2017 Posted in FTC, Government Investigations

In April we reviewed several new initiatives within the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) focused on eliminating “wasteful, legacy regulations and processes that have outlived their usefulness,” in the words of FTC Acting Chair Maureen K. Ohlhausen. As part of these initiatives, the FTC recently announced that its Bureau of Consumer Protection will be implementing “process … Continue Reading

What to Expect From FTC during Trump Administration: New Leader Illuminates

By Carey Busen on February 16, 2017 Posted in FTC, Government Investigations

On Jan. 25, President Trump named Maureen Ohlhausen as the Federal Trade Commission’s acting chairwoman. A recent speech by Ohlhausen, who has served as a commissioner for the FTC since 2012, shed some light on the role the FTC may have under her leadership during the new administration. Ohlhausen briefly summarized a “few areas in … Continue Reading

BakerHostetler Antitrust Lawyer Reviews Unusual Incentive Payment/Failing Firm Defense Remedy in Recent Hospital Merger

By BakerHostetler on November 17, 2016 Posted in Articles, FTC, FTC Act, Government Investigations, Healthcare, Merger Review

Antitrust Partner Danyll W. Foix wrote an article, published November 17, 2016 by Law360, reviewing the Federal Trade Commission’s acceptance of an unusual settlement for a challenged hospital merger, explaining that “the settlement ends the FTC’s challenge of a transaction that was too small to be reportable under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, and the settlement is … Continue Reading

Apple’s Streaming Music Service Under Investigation

By Julian Perlman on May 7, 2015 Posted in Government Investigations

It has been a busy several months for antitrust regulators and the tech giants whose alleged conduct has recently drawn their ire. Just a few weeks ago, Google formally became the subject of a European investigation into its alleged skewing of Google search results to favor other Google products and the tying of its apps … Continue Reading

Google Faces European Antitrust Investigation

By Julian Perlman on April 16, 2015 Posted in Government Investigations, International Antitrust

It’s official: on Wednesday, in a formal Statement of Objections, the European Union’s antitrust chief formally accused Google of abusing its dominant position in the web search arena. The European Commission is focused on Google’s alleged practice of skewing search results to divert users of Google’s search engine to other Google-owned websites, products, and services, particularly … Continue Reading

To Report or Not to Report, That Is the CFIUS Question

By Danyll Foix on February 16, 2015 Posted in CFIUS, Government Investigations, Merger, Merger Review, Premerger Notification

With the complexities inherent in many cross-border transactions – from cultural differences to the growing number of competition authorities demanding paperwork – the last thing one may want to think about is whether to submit a voluntary report of a transaction to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). The recent decision … Continue Reading

“Oh help me, please doctor, I’m damaged”*—What does the Future Hold for Hospital-Physician Acquisitions?

By Jonathan Lewis on February 12, 2015 Posted in Government Investigations, Healthcare, Merger Review

With the ink still drying on the Ninth Circuit’s opinion affirming the Idaho federal district court’s order requiring St. Luke’s Health System to unwind its acquisition of Saltzer Medical Group—a for-profit, physician-owned, multi-specialty group comprising approximately 44 physicians located in Nampa, Idaho—you may ask what the decision means for other providers? Hospitals considering future acquisitions of … Continue Reading

The Beat Goes On: Antitrust Enforcement and Healthcare*

By Jonathan Lewis on December 12, 2014 Posted in Government Investigations, Healthcare

In one form or another, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been banging the drum that there is no inconsistency between antitrust enforcement and healthcare. The latest to pick-up the drumbeat is the chair of the FTC herself, Edith Ramirez. In an article appearing in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) titled “Antitrust … Continue Reading

What is the CFIUS: Information to Know When Doing Transactions with Foreign Parties

By Danyll Foix on November 3, 2014 Posted in CFIUS, Government Investigations, Merger, Merger Review, Premerger Notification

U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow’s recent and much publicized unveiling of legislation to expand the CFIUS review process of transactions likely caused businesspeople everywhere to ask: “What’s the CFIUS?” In short, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”), comprised of high-level Washington bureaucrats, reviews certain domestic transactions involving foreign parties and determines or recommends … Continue Reading

Dollar General—“Setting the Record Straight” on Antitrust for Family Dollar

By Jonathan Lewis on September 4, 2014 Posted in FTC Act, Government Investigations, Merger, Merger Review

Unless you have been in the middle of a bidding war where antitrust concerns are front and center, what is playing out between Dollar General and Family Dollar is probably unfamiliar to you, as it is rarely seen outside of the boardroom. To get you up to speed, back in July Family Dollar agreed to be acquired … Continue Reading

Don’t Pop the Cork Just Yet—Growing Criticism of Massachusetts AG’s Settlement with Partners Healthcare Just Might Send the Parties Back to the Drawing Board

By Jonathan Lewis on July 22, 2014 Posted in Government Investigations, Healthcare, Merger Review

After touting a proposed settlement with Partners HealthCare (Partners) that supposedly would “fundamentally alter [Partners’] negotiating power for 10 years and control health costs across [Partners’] entire network,” Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) Martha Coakley is now playing defense trying to fend off criticism of the deal that just might send the parties back to the drawing board. … Continue Reading

Buckle Up—Unwinding Phoebe Putney’s Acquisition of Palmyra Down in Georgia May End Up Being Back on the Table

By Jonathan Lewis on July 22, 2014 Posted in FTC Act, Government Investigations, Healthcare, Merger Review

Almost one year ago, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) agreed to settle its antitrust challenge of Phoebe Putney Health System’s (Phoebe Putney) acquisition of Palmyra Medical Center (Palmyra) without requiring divesture or any other remedial relief. That settlement came after the FTC ran the table in the Supreme Court with a unanimous decision, and convinced a … Continue Reading

Let The Rejoicing Begin, Or Not—Massachusetts AG’s Settlement With Partners Healthcare Is No Harbinger of Things to Come

By Jonathan Lewis on June 27, 2014 Posted in Government Investigations, Healthcare, Merger, Merger Review

After almost half a dozen years of investigating Partners HealthCare’s (“Partners”) contracting practices and its proposed acquisitions of two competing hospital systems, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley announced a “final resolution” that she says “will fundamentally alter [Partners’] negotiating power for 10 years and control health costs across [Partners’] entire network.” But before you run … Continue Reading

Leave My Employees Alone! You Promised You Wouldn’t Hire/Solicit Them

By Jonathan Lewis on June 13, 2014 Posted in Antitrust Litigation, Government Investigations, Sherman Act 2

With the antitrust class action against Google, Apple, Intel and other Silicon Valley heavyweights nearly in the books ($300 million plus in settlements and millions more in defense fees later), it is time once again to ask what this settlement means for the continued use of clauses in merger and other types of agreements like … Continue Reading

What the WTP?

By Jonathan Lewis and Lee Simowitz on May 20, 2014 Posted in Government Investigations, Healthcare, Merger Review

If you are a health system or hospital thinking about a potential transaction and your lawyers have not spoken with you about hospital merger simulation, maybe you should be talking with someone else. What is hospital merger simulation? In recent years, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has come to rely more heavily on hospital merger … Continue Reading

Are You Facing the Prospect of a Merger Investigation?

By Jonathan Lewis, Gilbert S. Keteltas, Karin Scholz Jenson and James A. Sherer on May 8, 2014 Posted in Discovery, Government Investigations, Merger Review

If your organization is facing the prospect of a merger investigation and your lawyers haven’t raised the prospect of technology-assisted document review (“TAR”), then maybe you should be talking with someone else. What is TAR? TAR, a relatively new entrant into the world of litigation and investigations, is an iterative process in which human subject … Continue Reading

To Report, or Not to Report, Your Non-Reportable Transaction Is the Question

By Jonathan Lewis and Lee Simowitz on May 1, 2014 Posted in Government Investigations, Merger, Merger Review, Premerger Notification

Just because a proposed transaction does not have to be reported in advance to the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) or the Federal Trade Commission (“ FTC”) because it falls below the Hart-Scott-Rodino (“HSR”) Act size of transaction threshold (currently$75.9 million), you are not out of the woods. The growing list of companies defending antitrust challenges … Continue Reading

Connecticut’s Attorney General Wants to Know in Advance if You Are Going to Join Forces with a Healthcare Provider

By Jonathan Lewis and Lee Simowitz on April 24, 2014 Posted in Government Investigations, Healthcare, Legislation, Merger Review, Premerger Notification

Back in early 2013, Connecticut’s Attorney General (“AG”) formed a “Health Care Competition Working Group” within his office to examine the potential impact of horizontal mergers (e.g., hospital to hospital) and vertical provider acquisitions (i.e., hospitals buying up physician practices) “may have on the pricing, quality, and access to health care for Connecticut’s consumers and … Continue Reading

Sometimes Merger Fixes Are as Close as the End of Your Nose

By Jonathan Lewis and Lee Simowitz on April 15, 2014 Posted in Government Investigations, Merger, Merger Review

When it comes to negotiating merger remedies with federal antitrust enforcement agencies, the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission each have guides or statements that may help. But as good as their guidance may be, sometimes the fix for a merger is as close as the end of your nose. Back on July … Continue Reading

Webinar Now Available: Lessons Learned from FTC Investigation and Challenges of Healthcare Provider Transactions

By Danyll Foix on March 7, 2014 Posted in BakerHostetler, Events, Government Investigations, Healthcare, Merger Review

If you missed our webinar “Lessons Learned from FTC Investigation and Challenges of Healthcare Provider Transactions” featuring Former FTC Commissioner Pamela Jones Harbour and other antitrust partners from our Washington, D.C. office, you can listen and view the webinar by clicking here.… Continue Reading