The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently filed an administrative complaint challenging the acquisition of Grail, an emerging producer of early detection tests for multiple cancer types, by Illumina, a producer of next-generation DNA sequencing platforms which are used by Grail's (and potentially others') tests. This represents the FTC's first litigated challenge to a vertical transaction since 1978 and is the first major federal challenge to block such a transaction since 2017.
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M&A in the media industry is about to pick up. Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) 2017 rollback of media ownership limits. Media companies that once avoided specific acquisitions due to regulatory ownership limits may now take a second look. But passing through FCC review is only part of the equation, with the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) and many State Attorneys General frequently taking a hard look at deals in this sector. The Supreme Court’s decision affirming the FCC’s relaxation of its ownership limits means that antitrust scrutiny may now play a larger role in the clearance of media mergers as media companies look to make acquisitions past the FCC’s prior limits.
Tuesday, March 2, 2021
The recent decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Steves & Sons, Inc. v. JELD-WEN, Inc., 2021 WL 630521 (4th Cir. Feb. 18, 2021), is noteworthy for its affirmance of the trial court’s unusual grant of the equitable remedy of divestiture in a private antitrust suit brought by a customer challenging a merger of competing suppliers. That challenge was brought under Section 16 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. § 26, and followed a merger consummated four years before the plaintiff’s complaint.
While divestiture is a commonly sought remedy in government enforcement actions brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Fourth Circuit observed that “private suits seeking divestiture are rare and, to our knowledge, no court had ever ordered divestiture in a private suit before this case.” Steves & Sons, Inc., 2021 WL 630521, at 5; see also id. at
Distressed M&A On The Horizon: Merger Control Considerations To Adapt To A New Transactional Environment - Corporate/Commercial Law mondaq.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from mondaq.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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