FTC Reduces HSR Thresholds
The Federal Trade Commission has reduced the dollar thresholds for premerger filings required under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976. Effective February 20, 2010 only transactions valued above $63.4 million will require HSR filings, representing a reduction from the previous 2009 threshold of $65.2 million. The various other dollar thresholds for larger transactions have been reduced as well. These adjustments are made annually based on changes in the U.S. gross national product for the prior fiscal year and, in a notable sign of recent times, these changes represent the first downward adjustment to the thresholds, in response to the depressed economic environment over the most recent fiscal year. The revisions were published in the Federal Register on January 21, 2010 and take effect on February 20, 2010, as detailed in the attached Alert.