States Increase Their Individual Review of Merger Activity

Sweeping new rules that the Federal Trade Commission unanimously approved in October 2024 — and which went into effect in February 2025 — dramatically increased the scope of information and documents that parties must submit for certain strategic transactions, leading to a corresponding increase in the time, burden and expense of preparing HSR filings for these transactions. Partners Karen Lent and Kenneth Schwartz discuss the growing trend toward more coordinated pre-merger enforcement by state attorneys general and the implications for parties involved in subjected transactions.