As summer winds down, we’re looking back at some of our most popular client alerts — and a podcast episode — touching on the antitrust and competition space from the past few months.
A New Era for Defence in Europe: What It Means for Competition Law
Europe’s defence sector is undergoing unprecedented transformation, and competition authorities are recognising this evolving landscape in their competition assessments. In this environment, successful dealmaking and investments require an integrated approach across merger control, foreign subsidies, foreign direct investment and national security screening frameworks, as well as approvals under the EU’s state aid rules.
The Expanding Role of State AGs in Antitrust and Consumer Protection Enforcement
State attorneys general are expanding antitrust and consumer protection enforcement by creating new enforcement units, challenging mergers and other conduct independently of federal regulators and enacting new laws to target pricing. We analyze the evolving enforcement environment facing companies — especially those involved in M&A or consumer-facing pricing — from state AGs.
Beyond Divestitures: The Global Shift Toward More Flexible Merger Remedies
Antitrust authorities around the globe have shown increased openness to merger remedies, including behavioral ones. Companies pursuing complex cross-border transactions should consider preparing remedy strategies early and devising a consistent advocacy narrative, with jurisdiction-specific tailoring if necessary.
Managing the Unique Risks of Buying a Founder-Led Brand: A Guide to Deal Terms
An array of deal structures has evolved to address the special risks of acquiring a business whose success is closely tied to its founder. Those include earn-outs, equity rollovers and hybrid investment-plus-commercial-partnership arrangements, all designed to align the buyer’s and the founder’s interests.
MFN Drug Pricing and Impact on International Life Sciences Licensing Deals
The U.S. administration’s most-favored-nation drug pricing initiative intends to align U.S. drug prices with those in comparable developed nations through executive orders, voluntary manufacturer agreements and proposed Medicare and Medicaid pilots. We discuss the resulting new strategic considerations for life sciences companies that intend to sell their drugs in the U.S. but also have existing or prospective ex-U.S. licensing arrangements.
State AGs Step Up: Antitrust Enforcement Beyond the Federal Level (Podcast, Fierce Compeition)
From mini-HSR statutes to post-closing merger challenges, state attorneys general are changing the calculus for antitrust enforcement. In this episode of “Fierce Competition,” antitrust/competition attorneys Evan Kreiner, Joseph Rancour and Justine Haimi explore why states are taking a more aggressive role, the legislative tools they are adopting and a wave of recent litigations where state enforcers have diverged from — or moved ahead without — their federal counterparts. The team also discusses what this means for deal makers, including how to manage investigations and settlement discussions when both state and federal enforcers are involved.