Gregory E. Heltzer
Subscribe to Gregory E. Heltzer's PostsGregory (Greg) E. Heltzer focuses his practice on defending mergers and acquisitions before the US Federal Trade Commission, US Department of Justice, state antitrust authorities and foreign competition authorities. Greg has extensive experience in evaluating whether potential transactions will be cleared by antitrust enforcers and developing a viable path for clearance. In addition, he handles complex antitrust litigation, government investigations and antitrust counseling. Read Greg Heltzer's full bio.
DOJ to Merging Parties: The Time of “Underenforcement” is Over; Fix-It-First or Risk Being Challenged
By Jon B. Dubrow, Gregory E. Heltzer and Noah Feldman Greene on Sep 20, 2022
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions
WHAT HAPPENED During a conference last week, Ryan Danks, Director of Civil Enforcement at the US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (DOJ), suggested that merging parties—not the antitrust enforcement agencies—should devise fixes for allegedly anticompetitive transactions. Danks stated “that something is broken about the way that the antitrust community talks about remedies in the context...
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FTC Takes Action Limiting Overbroad M&A Non-Compete
By Gregory E. Heltzer on Jun 24, 2022
Posted In FTC Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions
WHAT HAPPENED GPM Investments (GPM) acquired 60 gas stations from Corrigan Oil (Corrigan). As part of the acquisition agreement, Corrigan agreed not to compete for a period of time with the gas stations purchased from Corrigan. In addition, Corrigan agreed not to compete with GPM for another 190 gas stations that GPM already owned. Few...
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DOJ Antitrust Head Signals Aggressive Enforcement against Private Equity Transactions
By Gregory E. Heltzer and Graham Hyman on May 31, 2022
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions
US antitrust enforcers have signaled that private equity firms are the prime targets for upcoming aggressive antitrust merger enforcement. In a recent interview, US Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter stated that the motive of a private equity firm may be “designed to hollow out or roll up an industry and essentially cash out,” which “is...
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Kanter Signals DOJ to Follow FTC Lockstep, Calls for Substantial Change to Competition Enforcement Approach
By Graham Hyman and Gregory E. Heltzer on Mar 14, 2022
Posted In Cartel Enforcement, DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Monopolization/Abuse of Dominance
In remarks delivered on January 18, 2022, and January 24, 2022, Jonathan Kanter, the Assistant Attorney General (AAG) for the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division, laid out the areas where he perceives shortcomings in antitrust enforcement. These speeches signaled that the Division, under Kanter’s direction, will take a more aggressive stance toward perceived...
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Treasury Responds to Biden Administration Executive Order with Report, Recommendations to Increase Alcohol Industry Competition
By Alva Mather and Gregory E. Heltzer on Feb 15, 2022
Posted In Distribution/Franchising, DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions, Monopolization/Abuse of Dominance
On February 9, 2022, the US Treasury Department (Treasury) released a report with recommendations for how the Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) can help drive competition in the beer, wine and spirits markets by stepping up conduct enforcement, adopting creative and nuanced theories of harm...
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Notification Threshold Under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act Increased to $101 Million
By Noah Feldman Greene, Timothy (Ty) Carson and Gregory E. Heltzer on Jan 21, 2022
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions
On January 21, 2022, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced increased thresholds for the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR). The thresholds are indexed to changes in the gross national product (GNP). NOTIFICATION THRESHOLD ADJUSTMENTS These increased thresholds are scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on January 24, 2022, which would...
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Senate Passes Bill to Substantially Increase HSR Merger Filing Fees for Deals Greater Than $5 Billion
By Graham Hyman and Gregory E. Heltzer on Jun 10, 2021
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Joint Ventures/Competitor Collaboration, Mergers & Acquisitions
On June 6, 2021, the US Senate passed the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2021. The bill is co-sponsored by Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the Chairwoman of the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights; and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA). The bill amends the premerger notification provisions of 15 U.S.C. § 18a...
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Proposed Bill to Substantially Increase HSR Merger Filing Fees for Deals Greater Than $5 Billion Advances Out of Committee
By Reese Poncia and Gregory E. Heltzer on May 14, 2021
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions
On Thursday, May 13, the US Senate Judiciary Committee voice-vote approved and advanced Senator Amy Klobuchar’s (D-MN) Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2021. This bill seeks to increase HSR filing fees required for mergers and acquisitions, altering fees for all transactions, and substantially increasing HSR filing fees for deals greater than $5 billion to...
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Enforcement Agencies Announce Moratorium on Early Termination Program for Merger Reviews
By Graham Hyman, Timothy (Ty) Carson and Gregory E. Heltzer on Feb 9, 2021
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a joint statement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) on February 4, 2021, signaling comprehensive changes to the merger review process. In a significant development, the agencies declared a moratorium on the early termination program for merger reviews. This policy shift signals a potential sea change in antitrust...
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Notification Threshold under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act Decreased to $92 Million
By Gregory E. Heltzer and Noah Feldman Greene on Feb 2, 2021
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) yesterday released decreased thresholds for the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR). The thresholds are indexed to changes in the gross national product (GNP). They normally increase year over year but have decreased this year because of the economic impacts of COVID-19. We last saw a decrease in...
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