Proposed Changes to HSR Form Are Critical to Stopping Illegal Mergers
Washington, D.C. — In response to the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice’s notice of proposed changes to the premerger notification form and rules (otherwise known as the HSR Form), the American Economic Liberties Project today submitted a written comment in support of the agencies’ long overdue modernization of its implementation of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act.
“The new HSR Form will provide the antitrust agencies with valuable information, in a more organized matter, that is critical to evaluating the competitive impact of mergers,” said Erik Peinert, Research Manager and Editor at Economic Liberties. “It will shift the burden from the enforcers and taxpayers to the merging parties that actually have this information at their fingertips and allow for a more efficient administration of our antitrust laws. This will help antitrust enforcers better investigate the most consequential mergers and rein in serial acquirers in order to protect honest businesses and working families.”
The Hart-Scott-Rodino Act was passed in 1976 to provide agencies with information about mergers before they occur. By imposing a waiting period on the consummation of mergers exceeding certain thresholds, currently $111.4 million, it allows both the agencies and the merging parties an opportunity to discuss the merger’s competitive impact and whether a challenge in court is likely. This leads to abandoned mergers and prevents expensive litigation. The HSR Form and notification process is a critical deterrent to illegal mergers, simplifying the workload for agencies with limited resources tasked with reviewing hundreds or thousands of mergers every year.
Much like the proposed merger guidelines released in August, the proposed revisions to the HSR Form place a renewed focus on how mergers will effect labor markets and whether they are part of an anti-competitive serial acquisition strategy. We look forward to seeing the final version adopted by the FTC and DOJ.
Read the comment defending the proposed revisions to the HSR Form here.
Learn more about Economic Liberties here.
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The American Economic Liberties Project works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. Economic Liberties believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.