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2026/10/08:
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The Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Agriculture launched a joint public inquiry regarding issues affecting agricultural equipment manufacturing and distribution markets, including potential anticompetitive conduct. The joint request for information is a part of the FTC’s ongoing work to preserve competition in the agricultural sector. This work includes the FTC’s recent settlement , joined by twelve states, enjoining Corteva Inc.’s alleged anticompetitive conduct in pesticides markets, as well as the FTC’s settlement , joined by five states, of an antitrust action challenging repair restrictions imposed by farm equipment manufacturer Deere & Company. The settlement with Deere ensures that farmers can enjoy the right to repair their own John Deere tractors and farm equipment. The joint RFI seeks to address the growing number of complaints received by USDA that farmers across the country face other barriers to acquiring agricultural equipment a
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2026/10/03:
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The Federal Trade Commission secured a settlement agreement with Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits LLC, the nation’s largest distributor of wine and spirits, that will redress allegedly illegal price discrimination practices and make it easier for small businesses to compete against large chain retailers. The sweeping settlement covers nearly all Southern wine and spirits sales to the five largest chain retailers in 26 states. The settlement will also provide direct cash payments to harmed small businesses if an independent monitor finds that Southern violates the settlement order going forward. “This settlement marks a significant milestone for the FTC in its enforcement of the Robinson-Patman Act, which Congress enacted to empower small businesses to compete against large ones,” said Daniel Guarnera, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “Small businesses are an invaluable part of the American economy and way of life. The FTC is committed to ensuring that all busi
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2026/09/29:
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The Federal Trade Commission and a coalition of state attorneys general have secured a significant settlement agreement with pesticide manufacturing giant Corteva Inc. that will lead to lower pesticide prices for American farmers. Under the terms of the settlement , Corteva will dismantle its existing pesticides loyalty program, which has limited distributors’ ability to do business with generic competitors that seek to enter the market after Corteva patents have expired. The settlement agreement will provide relief to farmers who have long endured high pesticide prices by ensuring greater access to lower-cost generic pesticide products. “This settlement will do away with unfair corporate practices that have hurt farmers by impeding the sales of lower-priced products,” said FTC Bureau of Competition Principal Deputy Director David Shaw. “The agreement the FTC and its state partners secured will give farmers better pesticide options at lower prices, enabling farmers to conti
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2026/09/25:
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The Federal Trade Commission amended the agency’s Rules of Practice to better align with the FTC Act and reflect organizational changes, including the creation of the American Competition Enforcement Division. The amendments also correct a number of minor errors and omissions in the previous version of the Rules. A detailed discussion of these and all rule amendments can be found in this Federal Register notice (16 CFR Parts 0-4) and this Federal Register notice (16 CFR Parts 4 and 5) . The Commission vote to approve the proposed changes to the Rules of Practice was
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2026/09/23:
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The Federal Trade Commission strongly endorsed the Department of Education’s proposed reforms to promote competition among accreditation agencies. Increased competition among accreditors and lower administrative burdens could lower the cost and improve the quality of higher education for millions of American students. At the urging of President Donald J. Trump, the Department of Education invited comment on a proposed rule that seeks to “reenvision America’s postsecondary quality assurance system” by simplifying the process of recognizing new accreditors. In a comment filed on Monday , the directors of the Office of Policy Planning and Bureau of Competition applauded the Department’s initiative. Drawing on the Commission’s decades of experience in evaluating accreditation and occupational licensing schemes, the comment concludes that accreditation monopolies drive up tuition costs, limit consumer choice and stifle innovation. As the comment explained, incumbent accreditatio
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2026/09/17:
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The Federal Trade Commission took action to resolve antitrust concerns arising from a stock purchase agreement between two of the largest firearm manufacturers, Beretta Holding S.A. (Beretta) and Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc. (Ruger), by accepting a proposed consent order that prevents anticompetitive entanglements between the two companies. Under the terms of the FTC’s proposed consent order, Beretta, a subsidiary of Upifra S.A., will be prohibited from appointing or nominating anyone to serve on Ruger’s board of directors unless that person is independent of Beretta. The order settles allegations that Beretta and Ruger’s proposed stock purchase deal would create an illegal interlocking directorate arrangement in violation of Section 8 of the Clayton Act, which generally prohibits directors and officers from serving simultaneously on the boards of competitors. The order marks the FTC’s latest enforcement action to crack down on companies sharing directors. Interlocking directora
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2026/09/03:
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On Sept. 1, 2026, Adena Health announced its acquisition of Fairfield Medical Center (FMC), a hospital system in southeastern Ohio. The announcement follows a Federal Trade Commission investigation of an earlier attempt by a different acquirer—OhioHealth—to buy FMC. Commission staff’s investigation of OhioHealth’s proposed acquisition of FMC raised serious competitive concerns: the proposed transaction risked raising costs and reducing the quality of care for Ohioans. The investigation also raised concerns regarding the thoroughness of FMC’s process to identify potential buyers. FTC staff coordinated closely with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office throughout its investigation. In light of these concerns, FTC staff encouraged FMC to seek alternative potential buyers through a robust sales process. That comprehensive sales process attracted interest from multiple potential buyers and ultimately resulted in the abandonment of the Ohio Health/FMC proposed transaction and the pa
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2026/08/26:
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The Federal Trade Commission finalized a consent order involving Ascension Health Alliance’s (Ascension) proposed $3.9 billion acquisition of AmSurg LLC. The FTC’s final consent order requires Ascension to divest seven AmSurg ambulatory surgery centers across Nashville, Tennessee; Panama City, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Waco, Texas and Wichita, Kansas. Six of the centers will be divested to SC Affiliates, while the seventh center in Panama City will be divested to Florida Gastroenterology Center. The FTC’s final consent order settles allegations that Ascension’s acquisition of AmSurg would limit competition for certain outpatient surgical services performed by gastroenterologists, ophthalmologists and orthopedists across the Nashville, Panama City, Tulsa, Waco and Wichita metro areas. Limited competition for these surgical services likely would lead to higher surgery prices for patients, while also threatening to lower the quality of care and limit surgical services innovation, th
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2026/08/25:
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The Federal Trade Commission, joined by five states, today notified the court that it will file a stipulated order that resolves its litigation against Zillow and Redfin and restores competition in the online platforms that renters use to find apartments and property managers use to list rentals. The order eliminates the key term in a 2025 agreement between Zillow and Redfin under which Zillow paid Redfin $100 million for Redfin to shut down its internet listing services (ILS) business, exclusively repost apartment listings provided by Zillow, transition its customers to Zillow and stay out of the ILS market for up to nine years. The order also requires Redfin to reenter the ILS market with far more apartment listings and to make enforceable commitments to invest millions of dollars to ensure Redfin will be a far stronger competitor than it was before the 2025 agreement. Restoring competition in the ILS market is expected to drive down costs and spur innovation that benefits renters and property managem
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2026/08/22:
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The Federal Trade Commission filed an amicus brief in an antitrust case alleging that drug manufacturer Amgen illegally acquired exclusive rights to patent applications that it shaped to cover Enbrel—a drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory conditions—allowing Amgen to extend its monopoly over the biologic drug. As part of its efforts to ensure Americans have greater access to low-cost prescription drugs, the FTC argues in the brief that acquisitions of patent applications, like Amgen’s acquisition, are subject to antitrust scrutiny. CareFirst of Maryland Inc. and its affiliates sued Amgen, alleging that the drug manufacturer’s acquisition of pending patent applications violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act. CareFirst alleges that Amgen acquired exclusive rights to patent applications with the potential to cover Enbrel and then used those applications to obtain patent claims covering Enbrel, which it leveraged to extend its monopoly over the drug and block
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2026/08/18:
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The Federal Trade Commission secured an important victory in the fight to lower the cost of housing construction materials for Americans by preventing German multinational Henkel AG & Co. KGaA (Henkel), the manufacturer of the industry-leading Loctite brand construction adhesives, from acquiring Loctite’s main competitor, Liquid Nails. On August 14, 2026, after a seven-day trial, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted the FTC’s request for a permanent injunction to block Henkel’s proposed $725 million acquisition of Liquid Nails from private equity firm American Industrial Partners. This latest court win also marks the Commission’s new approach to seeking permanent injunctions to block anticompetitive mergers without the need to continue cases in administrative proceedings. The FTC challenged the deal in December 2025, alleging that Henkel’s proposed acquisition of Liquid Nails would eliminate fierce competition between Loctite and Liqui
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2026/08/01:
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The Federal Trade Commission granted early termination of its review of quantum computing developer IonQ Inc.’s proposed acquisition of SkyWater Technologies Inc., a quantum chip fabrication company. FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson and Commissioner Mark R. Meador issued separate
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2026/07/15:
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The Federal Trade Commission secured a settlement agreement with one of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and its affiliated entities, marking yet another important victory in the Commission’s fight to lower healthcare costs for Americans. Caremark Rx LLC and Zinc Health Services LLC (collectively Caremark) have agreed to a settlement agreement that requires the PBM to adopt changes to its business practices to drive down patients’ out-of-pocket costs, increase transparency and ensure community pharmacies are treated fairly. “The FTC under President Trump won’t stand for anticompetitive behavior that drives up prices for American consumers,” said Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson. “The settlement with Caremark brings billions in real savings to consumers feeling the pinch from excessive prescription drug prices. And the settlement bars Caremark from interfering with hub pharmacies, which can help identify the lowest out-of-pocket option for patients and
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2026/07/15:
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The Federal Trade Commission lauded an Ohio Supreme Court proposal to lower the cost of legal representation by ending the American Bar Association’s explicit control over whether an Ohio bar applicant’s legal education is sufficient for practicing law in the state, undermining its monopoly. Responding to the court’s invitation to comment, the directors of the Office of Policy Planning and Bureau of Competition sent a letter to the court on Friday highlighting the competitive risks of continuing to grant the largest trade association of practicing attorneys the power to set policies that limit entrance into the profession. Restricting the supply of lawyers might increase compensation for ABA members, but it does so by imposing significant burdens on Ohioans seeking legal representation, the letter states. The ABA’s accreditation group is also dominated by law school faculty and administrators with strong incentives to thwart lower cost alternatives for legal education. The
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2026/07/14:
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The Federal Trade Commission secured $12 million in penalties to settle charges alleging that Edwards Lifesciences Corp. acquired medical device maker JC Medical from Genesis MedTech Group Limited without complying with the notification and waiting period requirements of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (HSR). Under the terms of a proposed final judgment , Edwards, including former Genesis subsidiary JC Medical, will pay a $10 million penalty. Genesis will pay a $2 million penalty. Edwards will also be subject to additional terms including prior notice requirements. The combined $12 million penalty is the largest ever for failing to make an HSR filing. “Companies that try to sneak deals through without lawful FTC review should take notice,” said Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson. “The FTC will be vigilant in enforcing the requirements of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act and we will not hesitate to seek penalties for its violation.” Today’s settlement resolves allegations that Edwards and Genesi
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2026/07/09:
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The Federal Trade Commission, along with five states, secured an important settlement in an antitrust lawsuit against farm equipment manufacturer Deere & Company that will ensure farmers can enjoy the right to repair their own John Deere tractors and farm equipment. The FTC’s settlement requires Deere—for the next 10 years and under the supervision of the FTC and plaintiff states—to provide farmers and independent repair providers with the same equipment repair resources, including applicable software capabilities, that it currently provides to authorized Deere dealers. The settlement resolves the FTC and states’ joint lawsuit against Deere, which alleged that Deere used unlawful practices to limit the ability of farmers and independent repair providers to perform repairs on Deere farm equipment. The settlement represents the Commission’s latest commitment to reducing the cost of living for Americans, including both farmers and downstream consumers of the products those far
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2026/07/03:
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The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division released their 48 th Annual Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Report . This report summarizes the agencies’ merger enforcement efforts and provides fiscal year 2025 data on the Premerger Notification Program, which alerts the agencies to transactions that may substantially lessen competition in violation of federal law. Enacted by Congress in 1976, the HSR Act gives the FTC and DOJ the opportunity to investigate and challenge mergers that are likely to harm consumers before injury occurs. The report explains that in fiscal year 2025, companies notified the agencies of 2,006 transactions under the HSR Act, of which approximately 31.8% were valued at more than $1 billion. The FTC and DOJ took 18 merger enforcement actions to maintain competition in critically important markets, including healthcare, technology, energy, defense, consumer goods and services, labor and manufacturing. The Commission brought eigh
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2026/07/01:
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Today, the Federal Trade Commission, along with a coalition of states, scored another major victory in the fight against collusive conduct in the advertising industry. Advertising agency Havas Media Group USA LLC (Havas) has agreed to a proposed FTC order to resolve allegations that it engaged in unlawful collusion that led to the demonetization of disfavored political viewpoints. The allegations against Havas follow similar allegations brought against major U.S. advertising agencies WPP, Publicis and Dentsu by the FTC in April 2026 . The proposed order with Havas is similar to settlement orders finalized with WPP, Publicis, Dentsu and Omnicom/IPG. As alleged in the latest complaint against Havas and in the April 2026 complaint, the advertising agencies, known as the “Big Six,” unlawfully colluded to impose common “brand safety” standards across the digital advertising industry. These “brand safety” standards violated the antitrust laws by insulating the agencies from
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2026/06/24:
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The Federal Trade Commission filed an amicus brief in an antitrust case alleging that drug manufacturer Johnson & Johnson illegally maintained a monopoly through anticompetitive conduct. The FTC’s brief seeks to protect American consumers from anticompetitive harm by asserting that longstanding Supreme Court precedent has clearly and consistently held that antitrust law is focused on the impact of anticompetitive conduct, not on the intent to harm competition. CareFirst of Maryland Inc. brought a class action alleging that Johnson & Johnson willfully maintained its monopoly power in the market for Stelara (ustekinumab)—a drug used to treat several autoimmune conditions, including psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease—through the acquisition of Momenta Pharmaceuticals and subsequent assertion of its patent portfolio to delay or prevent competition. The FTC’s amicus brief argues that binding precedent focuses on the effect on competition and harm to
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2026/06/23:
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The Federal Trade Commission finalized a consent order that requires Rollins Inc.—one of the largest pest-control companies in the United States—to stop enforcing noncompete agreements against more than 18,000 employees nationwide. The FTC alleged that Rollins imposed noncompete agreements on nearly all its employees, which typically prohibited them from working in the pest-control industry for two years after ending employment with Rollins. The company’s noncompete agreements prohibited employees from working in pest control within a predetermined distance, typically within a 75-mile radius from one of Rollins’ more than 700 locations in the U.S., according to the FTC’s complaint. The FTC’s final consent order requires Rollins to stop enforcing noncompete agreements against thousands of current and former Rollins workers, which will free them from these alleged unfair and anticompetitive agreements. The final consent order also imposes other conditions, including req
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2026/06/19:
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The Federal Trade Commission took action to protect American patients from higher drug costs by requiring Aurobindo Pharma Limited to divest four different generic drug products to complete its $250 million acquisition of Lannett Company Inc. Aurobindo’s acquisition of Lannett would combine two of a limited number of competitors in the markets for four different generic pharmaceutical products that provide critical relief for patients, ranging from drugs used to prevent organ transplant rejection to tablets that treat dry mouth after radiation therapy. Under the terms of the FTC’s proposed consent order , Aurobindo will be required to divest four generic pharmaceutical products to Quagen Pharmaceuticals LLC, an experienced generic pharmaceutical company. “The FTC has shown a deep commitment to lowering drug prices for all Americans,” said Daniel Guarnera, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “The FTC’s action today will protect millions of patients from the th
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2026/06/18:
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The Federal Trade Commission finalized a consent order involving 365 Retail Markets LLC’s $848 million acquisition of Cantaloupe Inc., a deal which seeks to combine the two largest providers of micromarket kiosks as well as software and services that allow food service operators to manage and operate numerous micromarkets. The FTC’s final consent order requires 365 Retail to divest Cantaloupe’s competing micromarket kiosk provider, Three Square Market, to Seaga Manufacturing Inc. The consent order settles FTC charges alleging that 365 Retail’s initial proposed acquisition of Cantaloupe would have eliminated head-to-head competition, likely driving up the price for micromarket kiosks and related software and services, while reducing product and service quality. Higher micromarket kiosk costs would likely be passed on to consumers in the form of higher food prices, the FTC alleged. The final consent order also imposes other conditions, including requiring 365 Retail to offer integr
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2026/06/11:
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The Federal Trade Commission finalized a consent order involving Sevita Health’s acquisition of BrightSpring Health Services Inc.’s community living business. The consent order requires Sevita to divest 128 intermediate care facilities (ICFs), which provide services to individuals with intellectual and development disabilities, and other assets such as day-training programs. The consent order requires Sevita to divest the facilities—located in Indiana, Louisiana and Texas—to Dungarvin Group Inc., an experienced operator of ICFs. The final consent order also imposes other conditions, including requiring Sevita to assist Dungarvin in obtaining all licenses, permits, authorizations or certifications related to, or necessary for, operating the divested facilities. The final consent order resolves FTC charges that Sevita’s acquisition of BrightSpring’s community living business, called ResCare Community Living, would reduce consumer choice and the quality of care for ICF service
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2026/06/06:
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Diversity Lab LLC, a for-profit diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) consultancy, has permanently ceased operations following a Federal Trade Commission investigation. The company informed the FTC that it filed paperwork to dissolve itself as a business entity with the California Secretary of State on Friday. Earlier this year, the FTC opened a formal inquiry into anticompetitive behavior related to Diversity Lab’s Mansfield Certification program. In Diversity Lab’s own words, the Mansfield program “writes the unwritten rules” imposing discriminatory DEI employment practices among law firms and legal employers. The investigation arose out of public statements showing that Diversity Lab awarded Mansfield Certification based on law firms’ adherence to common DEI hiring standards, including quotas based on race, gender and other demographic characteristics. In particular, law firms would certify that they considered candidate pools made up of at least 30% individuals with particula
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2026/06/03:
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The Federal Trade Commission took action to protect American patients from higher outpatient surgery costs by requiring national nonprofit health system Ascension Health Alliance (Ascension) to divest several surgery center facilities to complete its proposed $3.9 billion acquisition of AmSurg LLC. Ascension’s acquisition of AmSurg, a subsidiary of Ambulatory Topco LLC, would combine two providers of outpatient surgical services, which range from cataract surgeries to colonoscopies. Under the terms of the FTC’s proposed consent order , Ascension will be required to divest seven AmSurg ambulatory surgery centers. The divestiture covers each AmSurg facility in the relevant markets in which the proposed transaction would otherwise threaten competition: Nashville, Tenn., Panama City, Fla., Tulsa, Okla., Waco, Texas, and Wichita, Kan. Six of the centers will be divested to SC Affiliates, an experienced operator of ambulatory surgery centers nationwide. The seventh center in Panama City will be divested
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2026/05/09:
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Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson sent a warning letter to national mortgage services provider Mortgage Connect urging the company to conduct a comprehensive review of its employment contracts—including any noncompete agreements or other restrictive covenants—to ensure they are appropriately tailored and comply with the law. The letter responds to material made public in an ongoing lawsuit where Mortgage Connect seeks to enforce a noncompete agreement against a former worker and the competitor who hired her. Information in the lawsuit appears to show that Mortgage Connect may have used unjustifiable noncompete agreements in employment contracts, with potential adverse effects on workers and competition, the Chairman’s letter states. The letter encourages Mortgage Connect to review and discontinue the use of any noncompete or other agreements that are not reasonably necessary and to notify relevant workers of their discontinuance. The Chairman’s letter is the latest a
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2026/05/08:
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The Federal Trade Commission finalized a consent order resolving antitrust concerns related to a deal between Valvoline Inc. and private equity firm Greenbriar Equity Fund V., L.P. (Greenbriar). The consent order requires the divestiture of 45 quick-lube oil change shops to address antitrust concerns surrounding Valvoline’s acquisition of approximately 200 quick-lube oil change outlets from Greenbriar. The FTC’s complaint alleges that acquisition would eliminate competition across 25 local markets where Valvoline and Oil Changers, a subsidiary of Greenbriar, directly compete in offering quick-lube oil changes. Under the terms of the FTC’s final order, Main Street Auto LLC will acquire the divested outlets from Greenbriar and operate them under the name Oil Changers. The order will protect Americans from higher prices for quick-lube oil changes and lower quality quick-lube oil change services in California, Kentucky, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Washington and Wisconsin. Following
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2026/05/02:
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Today, the Federal Trade Commission took action to protect Americans from rising food prices by requiring 365 Retail Markets LLC (365 Retail)—the nation’s largest provider of micromarket kiosks—to divest a competing business to complete its $848 million acquisition of Cantaloupe Inc. 365 Retail, which is controlled by Garage Topco LP, seeks to acquire Cantaloupe in a deal that would combine the two largest providers of micromarket kiosks as well as related software and services. Micromarkets are small unattended convenience stores often found in offices and breakrooms that provide access to affordable, freshly prepared food that is not available in vending machines. Under the FTC’s proposed consent order , 365 Retail will be required to divest Cantaloupe’s Three Square Market business—a competing micromarket kiosk provider—to Seaga Manufacturing Inc. (Seaga). With current offerings in unattended foodservice retail that do not compete with micromarkets, Seaga is well-p
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2026/05/02:
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WHAT: The FTC will host a workshop titled “Eleventh-Hour Antitrust Remedy Proposals and Litigating the Fix.” It will discuss the rise in litigate-the-fix cases and how federal enforcers and the courts should respond. Litigate-the-fix cases arise when merging parties propose remedies late in the antitrust review process or even during litigation, forcing the courts, rather than the antitrust agencies, to determine whether the proposed remedy is sufficient. WHEN: Wednesday, May 20, 2026, 9:00 A.M. WHERE: Federal Trade Commission Headquarters 600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, D.C. Conference Room HQ-332 The event can also be viewed via a livestream. Information on how to access the livestream will be posted to the FTC’s event page in the coming weeks. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is required to attend. WHO: The workshop will feature remarks from FTC Commissioners, FTC and DOJ officials, scholars and other antitrust experts. X: Follow the discussio
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2026/05/02:
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Federal Trade Commission staff urged the Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday to open law school accreditation to competition by reducing its reliance on the American Bar Association (ABA) in determining which law schools provide sufficient education for their graduates to take the Tennessee bar examination. The letter was joined by the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee and officials at the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division. Responding to the court’s invitation to comment on whether it should “modify, reduce, or eliminate” its reliance on the ABA, the letter recommended reforms to the current process. Drawing on decades of enforcement, advocacy experience and commentary from legal scholars in the areas of accreditation and occupational licensing, the letter detailed the competitive harms of granting professional or trade associations the authority to restrict competition among themselves or limit the ability of others to enter the profession. The letter explained that t
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2026/04/24:
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The Federal Trade Commission has reached an agreement in principle with U.S. Anesthesia Partners Inc. (USAP) to settle the litigation and restore competition for anesthesia services in Texas. This preliminary settlement resolves charges, brought in 2023 , alleging that USAP violated antitrust laws by engaging in a decade-long scheme to consolidate anesthesia services in Texas. The Commission’s complaint alleged that USAP systemically bought up nearly every large anesthesia practice in Texas in a roll-up scheme to create a single dominant provider with the power to demand higher prices. USAP’s multi-pronged anticompetitive strategy and resulting dominance cost Texans tens of millions of dollars more each year for anesthesia services than before USAP was created, the FTC’s complaint alleged. The substance of the agreement is confidential at present to facilitate the negotiations USAP must undertake to execute the settlement. But the terms of the settlement, if fully executed, will restor
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2026/04/18:
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The Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division (“Agencies”) hereby extend the period for receiving public comments on their inquiry for consideration of guidance on collaborations among competitors that was announced on February 23, 2026. The Agencies are extending the comment period deadline from April 24, 2026 to May 21, 2026 to give all stakeholders more time to provide fulsome input on the development of up-to-date guidance to the business community, building on the previous 2000 Antitrust Guidelines for Collaborations Among Competitors . Interested parties, including attorneys, economists, academics, consumer groups, industry stakeholders or other members of the public, may now submit public comments no longer than 18 pages to Regulations.gov until May 21, 2026. The information submitted will be used by the Agencies to consider updated
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2026/04/16:
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The Federal Trade Commission, along with a coalition of states, took decisive action today to stop collusion between the nation’s largest advertising agencies that distorted America’s modern public square. Starting in 2018, major U.S. advertising agencies WPP, Publicis and Dentsu—who buy digital ad inventory on behalf of advertisers—unlawfully colluded to impose common “brand safety” standards across the digital advertising industry, according to the FTC’s complaint . The ad agencies, together with their primary competitors Omnicom and IPG, operated through trade associations to establish a common “Brand Safety Floor” to target “misinformation.” The complaint alleges firms like NewsGuard and the Global Disinformation Index used this misinformation designation as a means to promote the demonetization of disfavored political viewpoints. In a competitive market, ad agencies compete for advertisers’ business by offering brand-safety tools tha
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2026/04/16:
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The Federal Trade Commission testified before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation today to highlight the agency’s accomplishments in the last year and a half and its ongoing work to protect consumers and promote competition on behalf of the American people. These accomplishments reflect the agency’s continued work in support of the Trump-Vance administration’s pro‑consumer, pro‑competition agenda, which prioritizes lower costs, fair markets and accountability across the economy. FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson testified at the hearing along with Commissioner Mark R. Meador and outlined the Commission’s priorities and recent achievements on behalf of consumers, workers and honest businesses. This includes staff preparations for the enforcement of the TAKE IT DOWN Act, which is set to go into effect on May 19. The act, which was signed into law last year by President Trump, protects the victims of online abuse and exploitation by requiring, amo
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2026/04/16:
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The Federal Trade Commission today ordered Rollins, Inc.—one of the largest pest-control companies in the United States—to stop enforcing noncompete agreements against more than 18,000 employees nationwide. The agency also sent warning letters to 13 other companies in the pest-control industry that employ many thousands more workers, urging the firms to review their employment agreements to ensure they do not contain any unfair or anticompetitive noncompete provisions. The FTC’s action against Rollins—the parent company of brands including Orkin, HomeTeam, and Critter Control—is the latest in a series of enforcement actions taken by the Trump-Vance FTC to free American workers from labor practices that limit small business formation, employee mobility, and wage and job growth. Rollins imposed noncompete agreements on nearly all its employees, which typically prohibited them from working in the pest-control industry for two years after ending employment with Rollins. The company&r
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2026/04/04:
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The Federal Trade Commission submitted to Congress its Fiscal Year 2027 budget request , in support of the President’s FY 2027 budget for the federal government. The request seeks $426.71 million and 1,183 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions for the FTC for FY2027. The budget request also includes the Annual Performance Report for FY 2025 and Annual Performance Plan for FY 2026 and FY 2027 , as required under the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010. The Commission vote to release these documents was
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2026/04/04:
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The Federal Trade Commission has published its FY 2026-2030 Strategic Plan , which will guide the agency over the next five years. The new plan lays out the agency’s mission, vision, and goals and establishes metrics to track the agency’s work. Updates to the strategic plan were made after an extensive review process by agency staff as well as feedback from the public comment period held last fall. The Commission vote to approve the new strategic plan was
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2026/04/03:
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The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on a petition filed by Northrop Grumman Corporation requesting that the Commission reopen and set aside a final consent order involving Northrop Grumman’s 2018 acquisition of aerospace and defense contractor Orbital ATK. The final consent order, issued in December 2018 , resolves FTC allegations that Northrop Grumman’s acquisition of Orbital ATK was anticompetitive. The final consent order requires Northrop Grumman to supply solid rocket motors, or SRMs, to competitors on a non-discriminatory basis. The final consent order also imposes information protection obligations requiring Northrop Grumman to separate the operation of its SRM business from the rest of the company’s operations with a firewall. The order also allows the Department of War to appoint a compliance officer to oversee Northrop Grumman’s compliance with the order and related reporting requirements. The petition contends that the order is no longer necessary to
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2026/04/03:
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Federal Trade Commission staff warned Tennessee legislators of the potential harm to patients if it passes proposed legislation that would terminate a Certificate of Public Advantage (COPA) that provides state regulatory oversight for Ballad Health. The letter represents the latest effort by the FTC to lower healthcare costs, while improving quality and access to healthcare services for patients by promoting competition. In a letter to Tennessee Rep. David Hawk, the directors of the FTC’s Office of Policy Planning and Bureaus of Competition and Economics warned of the potential anticompetitive consequences to patients—which include higher healthcare costs and lower quality of care—if House Bill 2278 and Senate Bill 2414 are enacted. The bills would allow the Ballad Health COPA to expire in June 2028, ending the Tennessee Department of Health’s supervision over Ballad Health’s quality of healthcare services, availability and access to care, as well as population health initi
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2026/04/01:
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Federal Trade Commission staff on Tuesday endorsed the Florida Supreme Court’s decision to eliminate the American Bar Association’s (ABA) status as the sole accrediting agency dictating the educational requirements to take the bar exam and become a licensed attorney in Florida. Responding to the court’s invitation for comment, the directors of the Office of Policy Planning and Bureau of Competition sent a letter concurring with the court’s conclusion that the prior rule was “not in Floridians’ best interest.” Previously, to be eligible to take the Florida bar exam, applicants had to obtain their legal education from a law school “approved by the American Bar Association,” making the ABA the gatekeeper for Florida bar eligibility. The Florida Supreme Court action extends accreditation authority to certain types of accrediting agencies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and, where appropriate, approved by the court. The letter lauded the court&rs
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2026/03/26:
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Today, the Federal Trade Commission (Commission) and the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (DOJ) (together, the Agencies) launched a joint public inquiry regarding the effectiveness of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act’s (HSR Act) premerger reporting requirements. The joint public inquiry requests public comment on the effectiveness of the updated version of the HSR form, which took effect in February 2025 (Updated Form). The Updated Form was in place for over a year. In February 2026, a federal district court vacated the Updated Form; earlier this month, a U.S. Court of Appeals denied the Commission’s motion for a stay pending appeal. As a result, the Agencies are now accepting HSR filings using the same Form and Instructions that were in place before the Updated Form took effect. The Agencies will also continue to accept HSR filings made pursuant to the Updated Form and Instructions should filers voluntarily submit them. The Commission continues to believ
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2026/03/21:
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Today, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson directed FTC staff to form a Healthcare Task Force that will engage in a coordinated, integrated approach to healthcare enforcement and advocacy to protect American patients, healthcare workers, and taxpayers. In a memorandum , Chairman Ferguson directed the FTC’s Bureaus of Competition, Consumer Protection and Economics, as well as the Office of Policy Planning and Office of Technology to form the Healthcare Task Force. The Healthcare Task Force will: Lead targeted enforcement and advocacy initiatives focused on key priorities; Devise coordinated agencywide strategies on investigations; Take a proactive and strategic approach to identifying amicus and statement of interest opportunities; and Identify emerging issues and new priority areas for enforcement and advocacy. The Healthcare Task Force will also seek to expand its membership to include other agencies and law enforcement partners, including the Department of Health and Human Services an
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2026/03/17:
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In response to the announcement that Alcon, Inc. and Alcon Research, LLC (collectively referred to as Alcon) has abandoned its efforts to purchase LENSAR, Inc. (Lensar), Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Competition Director Daniel Guarnera issued the following statement: “The Bureau’s American Competition Enforcement (ACE) Division identified substantial competitive concerns with this transaction, which would have combined the two most significant players in the market for laser systems used in femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery, known as FLACS. Alcon and Lensar were locked in a price war that had already benefited doctors offering FLACS-assisted cataract procedures, as well as their patients. The vigorous competition between Alcon and Lensar had also spurred innovation in the FLACS market. Competitors simply cannot attempt to buy out rivals to get out from the heat of pricing and innovation competition. I’m proud of the work done by ACE in this investigation, which pr
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2026/02/24:
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Today, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division launched a joint public inquiry regarding potential additional guidance on collaborations among competitors. The joint inquiry seeks input on the value and potential content of guidance concerning the range of collaborations utilized to drive innovation and promote competition in the modern economy. This public inquiry will help the FTC and DOJ with their effort to develop up-to-date guidance to the business community, building on the previous 2000 Antitrust Guidelines for Collaborations Among Competitors (“2000 Collaboration Guidelines”). The guidelines explain how the FTC and DOJ analyze various antitrust issues raised by such collaborations. The 2000 Guidelines were withdrawn in December 2024. “In an everchanging economy, businesses need transparency and predictability from enforcers more than ever. These times may require the federal government to update its guidelines. The previous adminis
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2026/02/18:
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The Federal Trade Commission finalized a consent order involving the Boeing Company’s (Boeing) acquisition of Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. (Spirit). The FTC previously accepted the consent order, subject to final approval, on December 2, 2025. The consent order requires Boeing to divest significant Spirit assets. The consent order also requires Boeing and Spirit to continue to provide aerostructures and aerostructure services to competing contractors for military aircraft programs. The FTC’s final consent order includes a modification which clarifies the procedure for Boeing to submit compliance reports. The consent order resolves FTC allegations that Boeing’s acquisition of Spirit would give Boeing the ability and incentive to raise the cost of or degrade Airbus’s access to inputs for its competing commercial aircraft. The order also resolves FTC allegations that the acquisition could give Boeing the ability and incentive to limit rival military aircraft companies’ ac
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2026/02/13:
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Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson issued a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, reminding him of Apple’s obligations to its customers. The letter follows reports that Apple News systematically boosts left-wing sources and suppresses right-wing sources. The letter points out that if Apple misrepresents Apple News or violates its terms of service, it could be violating the FTC Act. The letter says: “Big Tech companies that suppress or promote news articles in their news aggregators or feeds based on the perceived ideological or political viewpoint of the article or publication may violate the FTC Act if that suppression or promotion (1) is inconsistent with the terms and conditions of service; (2) is contrary to consumers’ reasonable expectations such that failure to disclose the ideological favoritism is a material omission; or (3) when those practices cause substantial injury that is neither reasonably avoidable nor outweighed by countervailing benefits to consumers or
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2026/02/13:
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The Federal Trade Commission finalized a consent order that requires building services contractor Adamas Amenity Services LLC (Adamas) and its affiliated businesses to cease their enforcement of no-hire agreements. The FTC’s action helps free American workers from labor practices that limit wage and job growth. The FTC alleged that Adamas used anticompetitive no-hire agreements that restrict building owners and management companies across New Jersey and New York City from directly or indirectly hiring workers employed by Adamas without a significant penalty. These no-hire agreements limit workers’ ability to negotiate higher wages, better benefits, and improved working conditions, according to the FTC’s complaint. The final consent order resolves the FTC’s complaint by requiring Adamas to immediately cease enforcing all existing no-hire agreements and provide notice to customers and employees informing them that previous no-hire agreements are now null and void. Among other provisions,
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2026/02/05:
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The Federal Trade Commission secured a landmark settlement with one of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefit managers (“PBMs”), Express Scripts, Inc., and its affiliated entities (collectively “ESI”). The settlement requires ESI to adopt fundamental changes to its business practices that increase transparency, are expected to drive down patients’ out-of-pocket costs for drugs like insulin by up to $7 billion over 10 years, bring millions of dollars in new revenue to community pharmacies each year, and advance the Trump Administration’s key healthcare priorities. The FTC’s settlement resolves the Commission’s lawsuit against ESI, which alleges that ESI artificially inflated the list price of insulin drugs by using anticompetitive and unfair rebating practices, and impaired patients’ access to lower list price products, ultimately shifting the cost of high insulin list prices to vulnerable patients. “The FTC’s settlement with E
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2026/01/31:
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Today, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N Ferguson issued a letter to 42 law firms regarding potentially unfair and anticompetitive employment practices. All of these firms recently participated in the Mansfield Certification program, according to public information. Mansfield Certification is a creation of the company Diversity Lab, a for-profit DEI-consultancy business, which claims to “write the unwritten rules” establishing common race and gender-based employment practices across the legal industry. To receive the certification, law firms must agree to follow certain of Diversity Lab’s DEI-based employment standards. Public information also suggests that they would meet regularly with Diversity Lab and their competitor law firms to discuss common implementation of Diversity Lab’s criteria. The letter recipients are among the largest law firms in the United States, collectively employing over 50,000 attorneys subject to Diversity Lab’s criteria. Hundreds of othe
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2026/01/30:
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Today, the Federal Trade Commission took action to protect Americans with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families by requiring Sevita Health (Sevita) to divest more than 100 healthcare facilities to resolve antitrust concerns surrounding its proposed $835 million acquisition of BrightSpring Health Services, Inc.’s (BrightSpring) community living business. Sevita, a subsidiary of Centerbridge Seaport Acquisition Fund, L.P., seeks to acquire BrightSpring’s community living business—ResCare Community Living (ResCare)—which would combine the two largest national providers of residential services to individuals with intellectual and development disabilities, known as IDD services. Under the FTC’s proposed consent order , Sevita will be required to divest 128 intermediate care facilities (ICFs), which provide IDD services, and other assets such as day-training programs. The divested facilities—which are in Indiana, Louisiana, and Texas—will be acquire
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2026/01/27:
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WHAT: The FTC will host a workshop on employee noncompete agreements, which will include public statements from FTC Commissioners, victims of unfair and anticompetitive noncompete agreements, and leading experts in the field. WHEN: Tuesday, January 27, 2026, 1:00 pm E.T. WHERE: Due to inclement weather, this event will be held virtually. It will not be held as an in-person event. The livestream can be viewed via the webcast link . For more information, please visit the event page . WHO: The workshop will feature remarks from FTC Commissioners, victims of unfair and anticompetitive noncompete agreements, and leading experts in the field. TWITTER/X: Follow the discussion on Twitter/X using the hashtag:
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2026/01/21:
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Today, the Federal Trade Commission filed a notice that it will appeal the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia’s November 2025 ruling in favor of Meta Platforms, Inc. (“Meta”) in the FTC’s monopolization case against Meta. The appeal will be heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The FTC continues to allege, and robust evidence at trial demonstrated, that for over a decade Meta has illegally maintained a monopoly in personal social networking services through anticompetitive conduct – by buying the significant competitive threats it identified in Instagram and WhatsApp. FTC Bureau of Competition Director Daniel Guarnera issued the following statement regarding the FTC’s notice of appeal: “The U.S. economy thrives when competition can flourish and U.S. businesses compete fairly against one another. Yet Meta has maintained its dominant position and record profits for well over a decade not through legitimate competition, but by buy
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2026/01/15:
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The Federal Trade Commission has approved revised jurisdictional thresholds for Section 8 of the Clayton Act, which prohibits interlocking directorates. For 2026, thresholds under Section 8 of the Act that trigger prohibitions on certain interlocking memberships on corporate boards of directors are $54,402,000 for Section 8(a)(1) and $5,440,200 for Section 8(a)(2)(A). The thresholds for Section 8 of the Clayton Act become effective once published in the Federal Register. A complete listing of current thresholds can be found on the FTC’s website, and will be updated closer to the time they become effective. The vote approving the Federal Register notice announcing the threshold revisions was
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2026/01/15:
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The Federal Trade Commission has approved revised jurisdictional thresholds and a revised filing fee schedule under the Hart‑Scott‑Rodino (HSR) Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976. Section 7A(a)(2) of the Act requires the Commission to revise the jurisdictional thresholds annually, based on the change in gross national product. The FTC is also required to revise the related HSR filing fee schedule annually based on changes in the gross national product and in the consumer price index as required by the 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act. For 2026, the size-of-transaction threshold for reporting proposed mergers and acquisitions under Section 7A of the Clayton Act will increase from $126.4 million to $133.9 million. The revised jurisdictional thresholds and filing fee schedule will apply to all transactions that close on or after the effective date of the notice, which is 30 days after its publication in the Federal Register. The vote approving the Federal Register Annual Notice of Revision
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2026/01/13:
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The Federal Trade Commission secured an important victory to lower healthcare costs and expand access to lifesaving medical devices for Americans by halting Edwards Lifesciences Corp.’s (Edwards) proposed acquisition of JenaValve Technology, Inc (JenaValve). On January 9, 2026, after a six-day trial, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction to temporarily prevent Edwards from acquiring JenaValve. The FTC challenged the deal in August 2025 , alleging that Edwards’ acquisition of JenaValve would reduce competition in the U.S. market for transcatheter aortic valve replacement devices (TAVR-AR devices), which treat a heart condition called aortic regurgitation. In response to the district court’s order, the FTC’s Bureau of Competition Director Daniel Guarnera issued the following statement: “This is a major victory for the Trump-Vance FTC, American patients, and U.S. healthcare innovation. The court&r
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2026/01/10:
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The Federal Trade Commission has issued its 2025 Report on Ethanol Market Concentration . The Clean Air Act, as amended by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, directs the Commission to perform an annual review of market concentration in the ethanol production industry “to determine whether there is sufficient competition among industry participants to avoid price-setting and other anticompetitive behavior.” As in prior years, the 2025 report concludes that “the level of concentration and number of market participants in the U.S. ethanol production industry continue to suggest that the exercise of market power to set prices, or coordinate on price or output levels, is unlikely on a nationwide basis.” The Commission vote to approve the report was 2-0. The lead staff attorney on this matter for the FTC is Christopher Grengs in the Office of Policy
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2025/12/20:
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Today, the Federal Trade Commission took its latest enforcement action to free American workers from labor practices that limit wage and job growth by ordering building services contractor Adamas Amenity Services LLC (Adamas) and its affiliated businesses to cease their enforcement of no-hire agreements. Adamas used anticompetitive no-hire agreements that restrict building owners and management companies across New Jersey and New York City from directly hiring workers employed by Adamas without a significant penalty, according to the FTC’s complaint . For Adamas employees, which are mainly low-wage workers performing janitorial, front desk, security and other services, these no-hire agreements limit their ability to negotiate higher wages, better benefits, and improved working conditions, the FTC’s complaint alleges. To resolve the FTC’s complaint, Adamas is required to immediately cease enforcing all existing no-hire agreements under a proposed FTC order . “American workers have a rig
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2025/12/17:
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The Federal Trade Commission will host a workshop, titled “ Moving Forward: Protecting Workers from Anticompetitive Noncompete Agreements .” The event is open to the public, and will be held on January 27, 2026 from 1:00pm to 5:00pm, at the FTC’s Headquarters. Registration is required to attend in person . Registration is not required to view the livestream. A noncompete agreement is a contractual term between an employer and a worker that typically blocks the worker from working for a competing employer or starting a competing business after the end of the worker’s employment. In practice, noncompete agreements are often subject to abuse. The workshop is part of the Trump-Vance FTC’s efforts to highlight the negative impact of noncompete agreements on American workers and put business on notice of its current enforcement priorities. The workshop will be hosted by the FTC’s Joint Labor Task Force, which was created by Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson to prioritize rooting out an
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2025/12/12:
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Today, the Federal Trade Commission sued to block Henkel AG & Co. KGaA (Henkel), the manufacturer of the industry-leading Loctite brand construction adhesives, from acquiring Loctite’s main competitor, Liquid Nails. The FTC’s enforcement action seeks to lower the cost of housing for Americans by protecting U.S. consumers from paying higher prices for the materials they use to build and maintain their homes. Under the terms of the proposed deal, Henkel and its U.S. subsidiaries seek to acquire Liquid Nails for $725 million from private equity firm American Industrial Partners. The deal would combine the two biggest brands—by far—of construction adhesives sold at retailers like The Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Ace Hardware, according to the FTC’s complaint. The FTC alleges that the merger would eliminate fierce competition between Loctite and Liquid Nails, leading to higher prices, lower quality, and reduced innovation, all of which would be detrimental to American consumers.
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2025/12/11:
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After a challenge from the Federal Trade Commission, Teva Pharmaceuticals has requested that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) remove more than 200 improper patent listings from the FDA’s Orange Book. The FTC sent a series of warning letters in May 2025 to Teva and several other pharmaceutical companies, which have also withdrawn most of the disputed listings. These challenges are part of the FTC’s broader efforts to promote competition and lower drug prices in keeping with President Trump’s Executive Order on Lowering Drug Prices . Improper patent listings can limit competition by preventing generic alternatives from entering the market. This can keep drug prices artificially high and prevent patients from accessing lower-cost alternatives. The removals of more than 200 improper listings will pave the way for greater competition for generic alternatives for more than 30 asthma, diabetes, and COPD drugs and epinephrine autoinjectors. “President Trump has promised Ameri
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2025/12/09:
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7-Eleven, Inc. and its parent company, Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd., (collectively 7-Eleven) will pay $4.5 million to settle a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit alleging that the convenience store chain violated a 2018 FTC consent order by acquiring a fuel outlet in St. Petersburg, Fla. without providing the Commission prior notice. The $4.5 million penalty marks the largest civil penalty ever collected in an FTC case involving a prior-notice violation. It is also the largest negotiated settlement of any order violation in the FTC Bureau of Competition’s history. “Under the Trump-Vance FTC, merger remedies that protect competition are once again on the table. But for merger remedies to work, firms must abide by the terms of their consent orders, and we will hold parties accountable when they don’t live up to their commitments,” said Daniel Guarnera, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “7-Eleven failed to fulfill the terms of the FTC’s consent order and is now
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2025/12/06:
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In response to yesterday’s announcement that Aya Healthcare terminated its proposed acquisition of Cross Country Healthcare, Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Competition Director Daniel Guarnera issued the following statement: “FTC staff identified significant competitive concerns with Aya Healthcare’s proposed acquisition of Cross Country Healthcare. The deal would have eliminated head-to-head competition between two of the largest firms providing the software and services that hospitals use to find, hire, and manage their pools of traveling nurses and other temporary healthcare workers. Further consolidation in this important market risked reducing the options available for many thousands of healthcare workers, increasing hospitals’ expenses, and ultimately raising healthcare costs for American patients. I want to thank the FTC staff who worked on this matter. The Bureau of Competition will continue to investigate and—when necessary—file enforcement actions to protect c
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2025/12/04:
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The Federal Trade Commission will require The Boeing Company (Boeing) to divest significant Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. (Spirit) assets to resolve antitrust concerns surrounding Boeing’s $8.3 billion acquisition of Spirit. The FTC’s proposed order will protect competition in the large commercial and military aircraft markets, which are critical to American commercial travelers and national security. “American commercial travelers and our military deserve to fly on dependable aircraft, manufactured with reliable components,” said David J. Shaw, Principal Deputy Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “The Trump-Vance FTC’s action today protects aircraft manufacturing competition to ensure that Americans across the country can continue to access high-quality aircraft to reach their next destination.” The proposed merger seeks to combine Boeing, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of commercial and military aircraft, with Spirit, the world&rsq
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2025/12/03:
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Federal Trade Commission staff endorsed a proposed amendment that eliminates the American Bar Association’s (ABA) authority to dictate the education requirements needed to take the bar exam and practice law in Texas. Currently, Texas Bar Admission Rules require that a bar applicant obtain a degree from an “approved law school,” which the Texas Supreme Court’s rules define as “a law school approved by the American Bar Association.” In a letter submitted to the Texas Supreme Court , the directors of the FTC’s Office of Policy Planning and Bureau of Competition explained that the current rule raises serious competitive risks by giving the ABA, an association of practicing lawyers, the ability to restrict entry into their profession. The letter states that the ABA is dominated by practicing attorneys who have a strong interest in limiting competition for legal services. Under the current rule, the ABA can exclude market participants who would compete with its members. The
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2025/11/27:
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The Federal Trade Commission finalized a consent order that requires pet cremation company Gateway Services, Inc. and its subsidiary to stop enforcing noncompete agreements against their employees. Gateway’s noncompete agreements prohibited employees from working in the pet cremation service industry anywhere in the United States for one year after leaving Gateway. Under the terms of the FTC’s final consent order , Gateway is required to stop enforcing existing noncompete agreements specified in the order and is prohibited from entering into similar agreements moving forward. The order will free nearly 1,800 employees from these restrictive noncompete agreements that limit job mobility and the ability to negotiate better wages and benefits. The final consent order resolves an FTC complaint that alleged Gateway’s noncompete agreements are anticompetitive and suppress competition. Following a public comment period, the Commission voted 2-0 to approve the final
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2025/11/20:
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The Federal Trade Commission finalized a consent order that resolves antitrust concerns surrounding Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.’s (ACT) $1.57 billion acquisition of 270 retail fuel outlets from grocery store chain Giant Eagle, Inc. (Giant Eagle). ACT currently operates more than 7,100 stores in the United States, primarily under the Circle K brand. The FTC’s action helps to preserve competition between gas stations and keep fuel prices in check. The final consent order requires ACT to divest 35 retail gasoline and diesel fuel stations to Majors Management, LLC. These divestitures address the FTC’s allegations that ACT’s acquisition of retail fuel outlets from Giant Eagle will harm competition and lead to higher fuel costs for consumers in Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Following a public comment period, the Commission voted 2-0 to approve the final
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2025/11/15:
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The Federal Trade Commission will require automotive services company Valvoline Inc. and private equity firm Greenbriar Equity Fund V., L.P. (Greenbriar) to divest 45 quick-lube oil change shops to resolve antitrust concerns surrounding their $625 million deal. Main Street Auto, LLC will acquire the divested outlets from Greenbriar under the terms of the FTC’s proposed divestiture order . Valvoline seeks to acquire approximately 200 quick-lube oil change outlets from Greenbriar. Greenbriar, via a subsidiary, currently operates these quick-lube oil change outlets under the name Oil Changers. Quick-lube oil change outlets reliably provide oil changes to customers in under 30 minutes without an appointment. The FTC’s proposed divestiture order will protect Americans from higher prices for quick-lube oil changes and lower quality quick-lube oil change services in California, Kentucky, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Washington, and Wisconsin. “The FTC took action today to ensure that quick-l
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2025/10/18:
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The Federal Trade Commission finalized a consent order that requires Synopsys, Inc. and Ansys, Inc. to divest certain assets to resolve antitrust concerns surrounding their $35 billion merger. The FTC’s final consent order preserves competition across several software tool markets that are critical for the design of semiconductors and light simulation devices. The final consent order resolves FTC allegations that the deal would eliminate head-to-head competition between Synopsys and Ansys in three critical software tool markets, leading to higher prices for the design of semiconductors and light simulation devices, as well as decreased innovation. Under the order, Synopsys is required to divest its optical software tools and its photonic software tools, while Ansys will divest a power consumption analysis tool called PowerArtist. Both Synopsys and Ansys will divest their assets to Keysight Technologies, Inc. Without the divestitures, the FTC alleged that the deal would ultimately harm device manuf
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2025/10/01:
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Today, the Federal Trade Commission sued Zillow and Redfin over an unlawful agreement that eliminates Redfin as a competitor in the market for placing advertising of rental housing on internet listing services (ILSs)—the websites that millions of Americans use to find their next rental home. Zillow Group, Inc., and Zillow, Inc., (Zillow) and Redfin Corporation operate two of the nation’s largest rental ILS networks by traffic and revenue, including sites such as Zillow Rentals, Rent.com, and ApartmentGuide.com. The complaint alleges that in February 2025, Zillow and Redfin entered into an illegal agreement to dismantle Redfin as a competitor in the ILS advertising market for multifamily rental properties. In exchange for a $100 million payment and other compensation from Zillow, the complaint alleges, Redfin agreed: To end its contracts with advertising customers and help Zillow take over that business, To stop competing in the advertising market for multifamily properties for up to nine years, an
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2025/10/01:
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The Federal Trade Commission denied a petition seeking to reopen and set aside a final consent order involving a $5.2 billion cash-and-stock deal between private equity firm Quantum Energy Partners and natural gas producer EQT Corporation. Following a public comment period, the FTC determined that the petition should be denied since Quantum failed to identify any changes that justify reopening and setting aside the final order. The FTC’s consent order resolved antitrust concerns that alleged the deal would have made Quantum one of EQT’s largest shareholders and given Quantum a seat on EQT’s board of directors. Quantum and EQT are direct competitors in the production and sale of natural gas in the Appalachian Basin, the largest natural gas-producing region in the United States. In addition, the FTC alleged that an existing joint venture between EQT and Quantum, which involved in purchasing mineral rights in the Appalachian Basin, raised concerns regarding anticompetitive informati
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2025/09/30:
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Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson, Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, and Japan Fair Trade Commission Chairman Eiji Chatani of the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) met today in Washington, D.C., to continue the United States and Japan’s long history of engagement on competition issues affecting both countries. “I want to thank Chairman Chatani and the Japan Fair Trade Commission for joining us in a productive and insightful discussion,” said FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson. “The friendship between the United States and Japan is among the most important for both countries, and these strong ties also apply to the longstanding relationship between the U.S. and Japanese competition agencies. I fully expect our collaboration will continue to produce substantial benefits for competition, consumers, and workers in both countries.” Image FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson, Japan Fair Trade Commission Chairman
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2025/09/27:
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Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved a final order to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that Omnicom Group Inc.’s $13.5 billion acquisition of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (IPG) would violate the antitrust laws. The order eliminates Omnicom’s ability to deny advertising dollars to media publishers based on their political or ideological viewpoint, except at the express and individualized direction of Omnicom’s advertiser customers. As announced in June 2025 , the complaint alleged that advertising agencies have coordinated—including through industry associations—on decisions not to advertise on certain websites and applications. Coordination among advertising firms may reduce ad revenues for particular media publishers, forcing those publishers to reduce the amount of content they can offer to their own consumers and their investment in their sites. In response to comments received during the designated pub
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2025/09/18:
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The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division released their 47 th Annual Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Report . This report summaries the agencies’ merger enforcement efforts and provides fiscal year 2024 data on the Premerger Notification Program, which alerts the agencies to transactions that may substantially lessen competition in violation of federal law. The report explains that in fiscal year 2024, companies notified the agencies of 2,031 transactions under the HSR Act, approximately one-fourth of which were valued at more than $1 billion. The FTC and DOJ took 32 merger enforcement actions to maintain competition in critically important sectors across the American economy, including healthcare, groceries, technology, labor, and manufacturing. The Commission brought 18 of these actions, six of which resulted in administrative or federal court litigation while in the remaining cases the parties abandoned or restructured their proposed deal as a result of
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2025/09/18:
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Today the Federal Trade Commission announced it will host a workshop, titled “ Moving Forward: Protecting Workers from Anticompetitive Noncompete Agreements .” The event will be held on October 8, 2025 from 2:00pm to 6:00pm, at the FTC’s Constitution Center. The event is open to the public, in-person or via livestream. A noncompete agreement is a contractual term between an employer and a worker that typically blocks the worker from taking a job with a competing employer or starting a competing business after the end of the worker’s employment. In practice, noncompete agreements are often subject to abuse. The workshop is part of the Trump-Vance FTC’s efforts to highlight the negative impact of noncompete agreements on American workers and put business on notice of its enforcement priorities. The workshop will be hosted by the FTC’s Labor Task Force, which was created by Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson to prioritize rooting out and prosecuting deceptive, unfair, and anticompeti
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2025/09/18:
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On Tuesday, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson submitted recommendations for deleting or revising anticompetitive regulations across the entire federal government to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget. This report is a response to President Trump’s Executive Order on Reducing Anticompetitive Regulatory Barriers . The Executive Order tasked the FTC with finding unnecessary regulations that exclude new market entrants, protect dominant incumbents, and predetermine economic winners and losers, as a first step to repealing them. “President Trump’s Executive Order recognizes that heavy-handed regulations can hurt competition, including by entrenching incumbent firms, raising costs for new entrants, and discouraging innovative new ways to serve customers,” said FTC Bureau of Competition Director Daniel Guarnera. “Competitive markets lower the cost of living, improve the quality of products and services, and drive innovation. Our engagement with ci
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2025/09/16:
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The Federal Trade Commission announced today that three individuals have resigned from their positions on the Board of Directors of Sevita Health (Sevita) in response to the Federal Trade Commission’s enforcement of the Clayton Act, which generally prohibits directors and officers from serving simultaneously on the boards of competitors. “We are committed to enforcing the Clayton Act’s prohibition on interlocking directorates, which risk suppressing competition,” said Daniel Guarnera, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “We are pleased that the firms involved in this case worked with the FTC to resolve this issue quickly. We encourage all firms to review their board memberships to avoid any overlaps with competitors—including when new board members are added as a result of investments by private equity firms or other new shareholders.” Sevita and Beacon Specialized Living Services, Inc. (Beacon) both provide services, including residential facilities, t
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2025/09/11:
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Today, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson sent letters to several large healthcare employers and staffing firms urging them to conduct a comprehensive review of their employment agreements—including any noncompetes or other restrictive agreements—to ensure they are appropriately tailored and comply with the law. Many healthcare employers and staffing companies may include unreasonable noncompete agreements in employment contracts for vital roles like nurses, physicians, and other medical professionals. These restrictions can unreasonably limit healthcare professionals’ employment options and thereby limit patients’ choices over who provides their medical care—including, critically, in rural areas where medical services are already stretched thin, the letters state. “Enforcement against unreasonable noncompete agreements remains a top priority for the Federal Trade Commission,” said Kelse Moen, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Competition and c
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2025/09/10:
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Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson has appointed Emma Mittelstaedt Burnham as Associate Director for Healthcare in the Bureau of Competition. “I am delighted to appoint Emma as Associate Director for Healthcare in the Bureau of Competition. She is a talented attorney with many years of experience at the Department of Justice as a senior antitrust enforcer,” said FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson. “Emma will be an invaluable champion in the FTC’s ongoing fight to protect Americans’ access to affordable, high-quality healthcare.” Emma has significant experience leading the investigation and prosecution of complex antitrust conduct cases, having spent 11 years as a prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division. Most recently, she served as the Director of Criminal Enforcement, supervising the Antitrust Division’s price-fixing matters throughout the United States. She previously held the positions of Trial Attorney, Counsel to the Assista
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2025/09/06:
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Today the Federal Trade Commission took steps to dismiss its appeals in Ryan, LLC v. FTC, No. 24-10951 (5th Cir.), and Properties of the Villages v. FTC, No. 24-13102 (11th Cir.), and to accede to the vacatur of the Non-Compete Clause Rule. At the time the Biden FTC issued the Rule, current Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson and Commissioner Melissa Holyoak dissented on the grounds that the FTC lacked the statutory authority to issue the Rule. The district court found that the FTC does lack the authority, and prohibited enforcement of the Rule. The Commission voted 3-1 to dismiss the appeal and accede to the vacatur. Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson issued a statement joined by Commissioner Melissa Holyoak. Commissioner Mark R. Meador issued a concurring statement . Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter issued a dissenting statement
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2025/09/05:
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The Federal Trade Commission today took action to protect American workers from harmful labor practices by ordering pet cremation company Gateway Services, Inc. and its subsidiary to stop enforcing noncompete agreements against their employees. In a complaint filed against Gateway Services and its subsidiary Gateway US Holdings, Inc., (collectively referred to as Gateway), the FTC alleges that Gateway imposed noncompete agreements on almost all of its employees, which typically prohibited employees from working in the pet cremation service industry anywhere in the U.S. for one year after leaving Gateway. Under a proposed FTC consent order , Gateway must, among other terms, immediately stop enforcing all existing noncompete agreements. The FTC’s proposed order will free nearly 1,800 employees from these restrictive agreements that limit job mobility and the ability to negotiate better wages and benefits. “The Commission will stand up for workers and ensure that they receive all the benefits that fl
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2025/09/05:
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Today the Federal Trade Commission launched a public inquiry to better understand the scope, prevalence, and effects of employer noncompete agreements, as well as to gather information to inform possible future enforcement actions. A noncompete agreement is a contractual term between an employer and a worker that typically blocks the worker from working for a competing employer or starting a competing business after the end of the worker’s employment. While noncompete agreements can serve valid purposes in some circumstances, available evidence indicates that they are often subject to abuse. Members of the public including current and former employees restricted by noncompete agreements, and employers facing hiring difficulties due to a rival’s noncompete agreements, are encouraged to share information about the use of noncompete agreements. “We are asking the public to help shine a light on unfair and anticompetitive agreements,” said Kelse Moen, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Compe
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2025/08/14:
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Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson issued the following statement in response to President Trump's revocation of the Biden-Harris Administration’s 2021 Executive Order on competition policy: "America’s markets are the most dynamic on Earth, responsible for enriching the entire world through technological innovations, lifting countless people out of poverty, and inspiring other countries to emulate our economic system. Our markets thrive when they operate freely and when the Federal government does not pick winners and losers but allows businesses to grow and innovate. Today’s withdrawal of the Biden-Harris Executive Order on competition marks another break between the last Administration’s failed policies and the Trump-Vance Administration's focus on protecting everyday Americans from anticompetitive practices through tailored action, promoting economic growth, and ensuring that American workers benefit from competition for their labor.
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2025/08/13:
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Today, the Federal Trade Commission closed its investigation into whether several truck and engine manufacturers and their trade association violated the antitrust laws by entering the “Clean Truck Partnership” with the California Air Resources Board (CARB). The Commission has determined that written commitments made by the manufacturers to the Commission, backed by reporting and disclosure obligations, have accomplished the objectives of this investigation. Four manufacturers—Daimler Truck, International Motors, PACCAR, and Volvo Group—control up to 99% of the heavy-duty truck market in the United States. Under the Clean Truck Partnership, these four manufacturers agreed in 2023 to abide by a series of CARB regulations limiting truck sales and greenhouse gas emissions. The Commission’s view, detailed in the closing statement , is that the structure of the Clean Truck Partnership raised several antitrust concerns: The agreement forced manufacturers to produce “zero emission
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2025/08/07:
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The Federal Trade Commission today moved to block medical device supplier Edwards Lifesciences Corp.’s (Edwards) proposed acquisition of JenaValve Technology, Inc. (JenaValve) due to concerns that the acquisition would limit patient access to lifesaving medical devices used to treat a potentially fatal heart condition. The FTC alleges that over the span of two days in July 2024, Edwards executed agreements to acquire both JenaValve and JC Medical, the two leading companies competing to bring to market transcatheter aortic valve replacement devices that treat a heart condition called aortic regurgitation (TAVR-AR devices). Edwards closed its acquisition of JC Medical in August 2024, and its proposed $945 million acquisition of JenaValve would combine the only two companies with ongoing clinical trials in the United States for a TAVR-AR device. The deal threatens to reduce competition in the TAVR-AR market, likely resulting in reduced innovation, diminished product quality, and potentially increased price
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2025/08/02:
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WHAT: The Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, along with the Department of Commerce and the Department of Health and Human Services, will jointly host the last of three listening sessions focused on discussing ways to make prescription drugs more affordable for Americans by promoting competition. The third listening session will discuss how to turn insights from previous listening sessions into action to reduce drug prices. WHEN: Monday, August 4, 2025, 2 pm E.T. WHERE: Attendance in-person is by invitation only, but the event is being streamed online . WHO: The listening session will feature remarks by health care policy
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2025/07/29:
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The Federal Trade Commission has received a $14.6 million Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) grant that will enable the agency to enhance its in-house data processing capabilities and improve the way it analyzes data used in its investigations, saving both time and money. The grant will help the FTC meet President Trump’s goal to make government more efficient and cost effective by improving the agency’s ability to monitor and identify fraud and anti-competitive conduct. The FTC will use the grant to develop a comprehensive cloud-based analytics platform that leverages AI tools and train staff to handle complex data analysis in-house. These new tools will enable the agency to reduce the amount of time it takes to sift through data from weeks to hours. And doing this work in-house will save millions of dollars by reducing the agency’s reliance on more costly outside contractors. The TMF provides grants to federal agencies to modernize IT projects that have a high likelihood of success
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2025/07/24:
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WHAT: The Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, along with the Department of Commerce and the Department of Health and Human Services, will jointly host the second of three listening sessions focused on discussing ways to make prescription drugs more affordable for Americans by promoting competition. The second listening session will discuss formulary and benefit practices and regulatory abuse impacting drug competition WHEN: Thursday, July 24, 2025, 2 pm E.T. WHERE: Attendance in-person is by invitation only, but the event is being streamed online . Members of the public may submit questions online . WHO: The listening session will feature remarks by practitioners and
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2025/07/23:
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The Federal Trade Commission requests public comment on a petition seeking to reopen and set aside a final consent order involving a $5.2 billion cash-and-stock deal between private equity firm Quantum Energy Partners and natural gas producer EQT Corporation. The FTC’s 2023 consent order resolved antitrust concerns that alleged the deal would have made Quantum one of EQT’s largest shareholders and given Quantum a seat on EQT’s board of directors. Quantum and EQT are direct competitors in the production and sale of natural gas in the Appalachian Basin, the largest natural gas-producing region in the United States. In addition, the FTC alleged that an existing joint venture between EQT and Quantum involved in purchasing mineral rights in the Appalachian Basin raised concerns regarding anticompetitive information exchange and the harm to competition in the acquisition of mineral rights. The FTC alleged EQT and Quantum Energy’s deal would violate the antitrust laws and harm competition. Un
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2025/07/18:
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Today, the Federal Trade Commission reopened and set aside the final consent order involving Exxon Mobil Corporation’s proposed acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources Company. The FTC’s final order prohibited Exxon from nominating, designating, or appointing founder and former Pioneer CEO Scott Sheffield to Exxon’s board of directors or from serving in an advisory capacity in any way to the Exxon board or Exxon’s management. In addition, the final consent order required that for a period of five years, Exxon shall not nominate, designate, or appoint any Pioneer employee or director, other than certain named individuals, to Exxon’s board. The FTC’s May 2024 complaint alleged that Mr. Sheffield sought to coordinate oil output levels with other crude oil producers, and that appointment to Exxon’s board would give him a larger platform for coordination and create an unlawful interlocking directorate. Now-Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson and Commissioner Mel
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2025/07/18:
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Today, the Federal Trade Commission reopened and set aside the final consent order involving Chevron Corporation’s proposed acquisition of Hess Corporation. The January 2025 final consent order prohibited Chevron from nominating, designating, or appointing Hess CEO John B. Hess Chevron’s board of directors. The FTC’s complaint alleged that Mr. Hess made “supportive messaging” to representatives of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) regarding their agenda to stabilize the oil market. The complaint alleged that Mr. Hess’s participation on Chevron’s board would amplify Mr. Hess’s messaging to OPEC and others, increasing the likelihood that Chevron would align its production with OPEC’s output decisions. When the settlement was published in September 2024, now-Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson and Commissioner Melissa Holyoak dissented. However, just days before President Trump’s inauguration, the outgoing majority appro
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2025/07/16:
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The Federal Trade Commission denied a request filed by Scott Sheffield, the founder and former CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources, to reopen and set aside a final consent order involving Exxon Mobil Corporation’s acquisition of Pioneer. Sheffield’s petition to reopen and set aside the final order in its entirety must be denied because Sheffield is not a party to the final order and therefore cannot make use of the petition process, as defined by the FTC’s Rules of Practice, specifically Rule 2.51. The FTC’s final consent order, issued in January 2025, prohibits Exxon from nominating, designating, or appointing Sheffield to the Exxon board of directors or from having him serve in an advisory capacity in any way to the Exxon board or Exxon’s management. In addition, the final consent order requires that for a period of five years, Exxon shall not nominate, designate, or appoint any Pioneer employee or director, other than certain named individuals, to the Exxon boar
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2025/07/08:
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The Federal Trade Commission has approved in part and denied in part a petition to modify a final consent order involving the acquisition of EP Energy LLC (EP Energy) by a subsidiary of EnCap Capital Fund XI, L.P. and EnCap Investments L.P. (together, EnCap). The 2022 consent order settled charges that the acquisition would harm competition for the sale of Uinta Basin waxy crude oil to Salt Lake City area refiners. The consent order required the divestiture of EP Energy’s entire business and assets in Utah, and required EnCap and its subsidiaries Verdun Oil Company II LLC (Verdun) and XCL Resources Holdings, LLC (XCL) to obtain prior approval from the FTC before engaging in certain acquisitions in the seven Utah counties comprising the Uinta Basin. EnCap, Verdun, and XCL filed a petition with the FTC earlier this year that sought to remove the prior-approval requirement. To support their request, the parties noted in the petition that XCL sold all its interests in the Uinta Basin
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2025/07/01:
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WHAT: The Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, along with the Department of Commerce and the Department of Health and Human Services, will jointly host the first of three listening sessions focused on discussing ways to make prescription drugs more affordable for Americans by promoting competition. The first listening session will discuss anticompetitive conduct that impedes generic or biosimilar competition. WHEN: Monday, June 30, 2025, 2 pm E.T. WHERE: Attendance in-person is by invitation only, but the event is being streamed online . Members of the public may submit questions online . WHO: The listening session will feature remarks by practitioners and
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2025/06/27:
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Today, the Federal Trade Commission took action to protect Americans from paying higher prices at the pump by resolving antitrust concerns surrounding Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.’s (ACT) proposed $1.57 billion acquisition of 270 retail fuel outlets from grocery store chain Giant Eagle, Inc. ACT currently operates more than 7,100 stores in the United States, primarily under the brand Circle K. Under the proposed consent order , the FTC will require ACT to divest 35 gas stations, which will be acquired by Majors Management, LLC. The consent order settles FTC charges that ACT’s deal with Giant Eagle is anticompetitive and will likely lead to higher fuel costs for consumers across Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. “This anticompetitive acquisition threatened to make Americans pay more at the pump by raising fuel prices,” said Daniel Guarnera, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “The FTC’s action today preserves competition between gas stations that is critical f
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2025/06/26:
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Today, the FTC granted early termination of its review of Mars, Incorporated’s proposed acquisition of Kellanova. Mars is a global manufacturer of pet care, snacking, and food products. Kellanova owns legacy Kellogg brands, including in snacks, crackers, and frozen breakfasts, after spinning off its North American cereals business in 2023 as WK Kellogg Co. “The Commission cares deeply about any competition concerns that affect American consumers, including in food products,” said Daniel Guarnera, Director of the Bureau of Competition. “Commission staff closely reviewed every aspect of this transaction, including both specific product markets and potential portfolio effects from the acquisition. They turned over every stone needed to arrive at a robust assessment of the likely competitive effects of this transaction. After nearly a year of investigation, dozens upon dozens of interviews with non-parties at all levels of the supply chain (including large chains and small, indep
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2025/06/24:
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Today, the Federal Trade Commission took action to resolve antitrust concerns related to Omnicom Group Inc.’s $13.5 billion acquisition of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (IPG). The FTC accepted a proposed consent order that will prevent potential anticompetitive coordination by Omnicom, a global advertising agency that facilitates media buying by representing advertisers in negotiations with media publishers over conditions such as pricing, ad placement, and sponsorships, as well as helping execute advertisers’ ad campaigns. Omnicom and IPG are the third- and fourth-largest media buying advertising agencies in the U.S. Combined, they will be the world’s largest media buying advertising agency. The proposed order imposes restrictions that prevent Omnicom from engaging in collusion or coordination to direct advertising away from media publishers based on the publishers’ political or ideological viewpoints. “Websites and other publications that rely on advertising are crit
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2025/06/12:
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As part of implementing President Trump’s Executive Order No. 14273, Lowering Drug Prices by Once Again Putting Americans First , the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, along with the Department of Commerce and the Department of Health and Human Services, will jointly host listening sessions to discuss ways to make prescription drugs more affordable for Americans by promoting competition. The three listening sessions will occur under the direction of FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson and Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater of the DOJ Antitrust Division. The listening sessions will focus on improving the affordability of pharmaceuticals by increasing generic and biosimilar availability and promoting competition through drug formularies and benefits. The sessions, which will feature remarks by practitioners and scholars, will cover anticompetitive practices as well as eliminating regulatory barriers and rent seeking . The listening sessions will inform the FTC
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2025/05/29:
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The Federal Trade Commission will require Synopsys, Inc. and Ansys, Inc. to divest certain assets to resolve antitrust concerns surrounding their $35 billion merger. The FTC’s proposed divestiture order will preserve competition across several software tool markets that are critical for the design of semiconductors and light simulation devices, which are used in a wide range of products. The proposed order will help protect consumers from higher input prices for cars, smartphones, cameras, televisions, and other critical products. “The FTC’s action today protects Americans from higher costs for the countless everyday products that use computer chips, LED screens, fiber optic cables, and many other high-tech components,” said Daniel Guarnera, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “The FTC’s divestiture order ensures that competition can thrive across software markets that are critical to designing the digital products that power Americans’ daily live
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2025/05/23:
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The Federal Trade Commission, joined by the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, filed a Statement of Interest in a multistate antitrust case against asset managers BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard. The case, led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, alleges that BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard engaged in an anticompetitive conspiracy to drive down coal production as part of an industry-wide “Net Zero” initiative to further anti-coal Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals. BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard allegedly exercised their influence as shareholders in competing coal companies to push them to reduce industrywide coal output. The multistate lawsuit alleges that these actions, along with the unlawful sharing of competitively sensitive information and other allegations, increased coal prices and forced American consumers to pay more for energy as part of an unlawful left-wing ideological scheme. The FTC and DOJ, as the nation’s antitrust law enforcers
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2025/05/23:
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The Federal Trade Commission today voted to dismiss without prejudice a Robinson-Patman Act (RPA) lawsuit against PepsiCo, Inc. (Pepsi) that was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The lawsuit, authorized on January 17, 2025, alleged that Pepsi violated Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act and RPA Sections 2(d) and 2(e), which prohibit firms from engaging in price discrimination by providing side payments, such as discounts or services, to favored customers. “The Biden-Harris FTC rushed to authorize this case just three days before President Trump’s inauguration in a nakedly political effort to commit this administration to pursuing little more than a hunch that Pepsi had violated the law,” said FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson. “Taxpayer dollars should not be used for legally dubious partisan stunts. The FTC’s outstanding staff will instead get back to work protecting consumers and ensuring a fair and competitive business environment.&rdq
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2025/05/22:
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Continuing its efforts to promote competition and lower drug prices, today the Federal Trade Commission renewed its challenges against dozens of improperly listed device patents that shield brand-name asthma, diabetes, epinephrine autoinjector, and COPD drugs from prompt generic competition. Improper patent listings can delay generic alternatives from entering the market, keeping drug prices artificially high and preventing patients from accessing lower cost drugs. The FTC sent warning letters to Novartis, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Mylan Specialty, Covis Pharma, and three Teva entities, and notified the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that it disputes the appropriateness of more than 200 patent listings in the FDA’s Orange Book across 17 different brand-name products. These patent listings, which the FTC has previously disputed, continue to be maintained in the FDA’s publication of “Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations,” commonly known as the Orange Book.
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2025/05/21:
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The Federal Trade Commission finalized a consent order with Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe and its affiliates (collectively referred to as Welsh Carson) that resolves a potential administrative antitrust case against Welsh Carson. The final consent order settles FTC charges that alleged Welsh Carson, through its portfolio company U.S. Anesthesia Partners (USAP), engaged in anticompetitive acquisitions to suppress competition and drive up prices for anesthesiology services in Texas. Under the final consent order , Welsh Carson is required to limit its involvement with USAP and to notify the FTC of specified future acquisitions and investments in anesthesia and other hospital-based physician practices. The final consent order with Welsh Carson follows a federal lawsuit filed by the Commission against USAP and Welsh Carson in September 2023. The Commission alleged that USAP and Welsh Carson engaged in a roll-up scheme by systemically buying up nearly every large anesthesia practice in Texas to creat
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2025/05/16:
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Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson today appeared before the House Appropriations Committee’s Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee to discuss the agency's Fiscal Year 2025 operations, Fiscal Year 2026 priorities and ongoing work to protect consumers and promote competition. Testifying on behalf of the Commission, Chairman Ferguson emphasized the value the FTC provides to U.S. taxpayers. For example, in FY 2024, the agency returned more than $333 million to consumers, equivalent to nearly two-thirds of the agency’s annual budget. The testimony highlighted the FTC’s commitment to using agency resources efficiently and meeting President Trump’s goal of reducing the size of the federal government. In recent months, the FTC has reduced the size of its workforce and cut other costs while still executing on the agency’s priorities – protecting the American people from scams, fraud and other unfair or deceptive practices as well as fro
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2025/05/10:
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The Federal Trade Commission filed an amicus brief today in support of the Department of Justice’s Revised Proposed Final Judgment (RPFJ) related to Google’s antitrust violations. In August 2024, a federal judge found that Google violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act by maintaining monopolies in general search services and general text advertising. As part of the RPFJ aimed at remedying these violations, DOJ proposed that Google be required to share targeted portions of its search index, user, and ads data with certain competitors for a limited period of time with suitable security and privacy safeguards. As the nation’s primary privacy enforcer, the FTC has a strong interest in ensuring that companies vigorously protect consumers’ privacy and long experience with crafting appropriate remedies to address such privacy and data security violations. “The privacy safeguards proposed by DOJ are in line with the measures the FTC has required numerous companies to take to
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2025/05/06:
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Today, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division issued a joint letter directing the heads of agencies across the federal government to create a list of anticompetitive regulations that reduce competition, entrepreneurship, and innovation. FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson and Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater of the DOJ’s Antitrust Division issued the letter, which advances President Trump’s Executive Order on Reducing Anticompetitive Regulatory Barriers. The Executive Order directs all agency heads to provide a list identifying anticompetitive regulations within their agency’s rulemaking authority to the FTC and DOJ. Along with each regulation identified, the agency must include a recommendation for deletion; a recommendation for specific modifications; or a justification for the potential anticompetitive effects. The joint letter follows a recent Request for Information launched by the FTC inviting members of the public to comment on h
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2025/04/18:
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The Federal Trade Commission filed an amended complaint adding the states of Illinois and Minnesota as co-plaintiffs in the Commission’s lawsuit challenging GTCR BC Holdings, LLC’s (GTCR) acquisition of Surmodics, Inc. (Surmodics). The amended complaint also adds GTCR, LLC as an additional defendant in the case. The FTC’s ongoing lawsuit alleges that GTCR’s acquisition of Surmodics would create a combined company controlling more than 50% of the market for outsourced hydrophilic coatings, which are used to produce lifesaving medical devices such as catheters and guidewires. The complaint alleges: Surmodics is the largest provider of outsourced hydrophilic coatings and GTCR owns a majority stake in Biocoat, Inc., the second-largest provider of outsourced hydrophilic coatings. GTCR’s acquisition of Surmodics would eliminate direct competition. The existing competition has resulted in lower prices, higher quality coatings, and product innovation, which has benefitted both medi
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2025/04/15:
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Today, the Federal Trade Commission launched a public inquiry into the impact of federal regulations on competition, with the goal of identifying and reducing anticompetitive regulatory barriers. The FTC launched this inquiry in response to President Trump’s Executive Order on Reducing Anticompetitive Regulatory Barriers . Per the Executive Order, the Trump-Vance FTC will be on the front lines of advancing the President’s agenda to revitalize the American economy. The FTC seeks to identify unnecessary regulations that exclude new market entrants, protect dominant incumbents, and predetermine economic winners and losers. “Regulations that reduce competition, entrepreneurship, and innovation can hamper the American economy,” said FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson. “These need to be eliminated or modified to revitalize a competitive market.” In a Request for Information , the FTC invites members of the public to comment on how federal regulations can harm competition
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2025/04/12:
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The Federal Trade Commission seeks public comment on a petition filed by Scott Sheffield, the founder and former CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources, requesting that the Commission reopen and set aside a final consent order involving Exxon Mobil Corporation’s acquisition of Pioneer. On January 17, 2025, the FTC entered into a consent order concerning Exxon’s acquisition of Pioneer. Under the final consent order, Exxon is prohibited from nominating, designating, or appointing Sheffield to the Exxon Board of Directors or from having him serve in an advisory capacity in any way to the Exxon board or Exxon’s management. In addition, the final consent order requires that for a period of five years, Exxon shall not nominate, designate, or appoint any Pioneer employee or director, other than certain named individuals, to the Exxon board. The final consent order was issued in January 2025 . In the petition , Sheffield requests that the Commission set aside and vacate the final order in its
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2025/04/12:
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The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on a petition filed by Chevron Corporation and Hess Corporation requesting that the Commission reopen and set aside a final consent order involving Chevron’s acquisition of Hess. The companies filed a petition asking the FTC to set aside its consent order, which prohibits Chevron from nominating, designating, or appointing Hess CEO John B. Hess to the Chevron Board of Directors. The final order was issued in January 2025 . The public will have 30 days, until May 12, 2025, to submit comments on the petition to set aside the consent order. Instructions for filing comments appear on the docket. Once processed, they will be posted on Regulations.gov . After the comment period closes, the Commission will vote to determine how to resolve the
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2025/04/11:
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Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson today congratulated Mark R. Meador on his confirmation to serve as an FTC Commissioner. “I am thrilled to welcome Mark to the Commission,” Chairman Ferguson said. “Mark is a brilliant antitrust lawyer who will be a great asset to the Trump-Vance FTC.” Meador was nominated on January 20, 2025 by President Trump to a term that will expire on September 25, 2031 and confirmed by the Senate on April 10, 2025. Meador most recently worked in private practice and as a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation Tech Policy Center. Prior to that, he served as Deputy Chief Counsel for Antitrust and Competition Policy for Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. During the first Trump Administration, Meador worked as a trial attorney in the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. He began his career as an attorney in the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. Meador earned his law degree from the University of Houston Law Center and his undergraduate degree
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2025/04/10:
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The Federal Trade Commission’s initial findings from its surveillance pricing market study revealed that details like a person’s precise location or browser history can be frequently used to target individual consumers with different prices for the same goods and services. The staff perspective is based on an examination of documents obtained by FTC staff’s 6(b) orders sent to several companies in July aiming to better understand the shadowy market that third-party intermediaries use to set individualized prices for products and services based on consumers’ characteristics and behaviors, like location, demographics, browsing patterns and shopping history. Staff found that consumer behaviors ranging from mouse movements on a webpage to the type of products that consumers leave unpurchased in an online shopping cart can be tracked and used by retailers to tailor consumer pricing. “Initial staff findings show that retailers frequently use people’s personal information to
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2025/04/09:
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The Federal Trade Commission approved a petition by Enbridge Inc. to reopen and set aside the Commission’s 2017 final consent order related to Enbridge’s merger with Spectra Energy Corp. The FTC determined that the requirements of the final consent order are no longer necessary because Enbridge no longer holds any ownership interest in a competing natural gas pipeline called the Discovery Pipeline. By acquiring Spectra, Enbridge gained an indirect ownership interest in the Discovery Pipeline, which is the main competitor to the Walker Ridge Pipeline, a pipeline which Enbridge owns and operates. The FTC alleged that Enbridge’s acquisition of Spectra would result in Enbridge having access to competitively sensitive information about the Discovery Pipeline. Without adequate guardrails, Enbridge could have engaged in anticompetitive conduct that would have made the Discovery Pipeline a less effective competitor or facilitated coordination in the industry. The FTC’s 2017 order with En
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2025/04/03:
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The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on a petition to reopen and modify a 2022 final consent order involving Verdun Oil Company II LLC’s (Verdun) acquisition of EP Energy LLC (EP). The FTC’s 2022 order settled charges that the acquisition would harm competition for the sale of Uinta Basin waxy crude oil to Salt Lake City refiners. The FTC’s final consent order required the divestiture of EP’s entire business and assets in Utah. The final order also required Verdun, XCL Resources Holdings, LLC (XCL), and their parent entities, EnCap Energy Capital Fund XI, L.P. and EnCap Investments L.P. (together, EnCap), to obtain prior approval from the Commission before engaging in certain acquisition transactions across several counties in Utah. Relevant parties to the 2022 order filed a petition with the Commission that seeks to remove this prior approval requirement covering EnCap, Verdun, and XCL from the final consent order. According to the petition, there have been sig
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2025/03/27:
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Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson today announced he has appointed Taylor C. Hoogendoorn as Deputy Director of the Bureau of Competition and Katherine White as Deputy Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection. Hoogendoorn is a talented litigator with expertise in a wide range of litigation, including antitrust, tort, contractual, energy, and intellectual property matters. Hoogendoorn joins the FTC after spending time in private practice at a law firm in Houston. He clerked for the Hon. Samuel A. Alito Jr. on the Supreme Court of the United States; the Hon. Gregory G. Katsas on the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit; and the Hon. J. Harvie Wilkinson III on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Hoogendoorn holds a J.D. from Yale Law School, where he won the Morris Tyler Moot Court of Appeals and served on the Yale Law Journal, and a B.B.A. with majors in Economics, Finance, Mathematics, and Business Fellows from Baylor University. While at Baylo
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2025/03/18:
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Today, Federal Trade Commission staff again urged the Indiana Department of Health to deny Union Hospital, Inc. (Union Health) and Terre Haute Regional Hospital, L.P.’s (THRH) application to merge. FTC staff said Union Health and THRH’s second attempt to merge under a proposed certificate of public advantage , also known as a COPA, presents the same anticompetitive harms as their original application did, according to the FTC’s comment letter . Union Health and THRH’s COPA application would shield the proposed merger from antitrust scrutiny. The FTC warned that the merger poses substantial anticompetitive risks such as higher healthcare costs for patients and lower wages for hospital workers. “This repackaged COPA application presents the same problems as before. Competition consistently results in better outcomes for patients and workers than consolidation subject to COPAs,” said Clarke Edwards, Acting Director of the FTC’s Office of Policy Planning. “The
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2025/03/07:
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The Federal Trade Commission today sued to block GTCR BC Holdings, LLC’s (GTCR) acquisition of Surmodics, Inc. (Surmodics), alleging that the deal, which seeks to combine the two largest manufacturers of critical medical device coatings, is anticompetitive. The FTC charges that private equity firm GTCR’s proposed acquisition of Surmodics would create a combined company controlling more than 50% of the market for outsourced hydrophilic coatings. These coatings are often used by medical device manufacturers and are applied to lifesaving medical devices such as catheters and guidewires. “Medical device makers rely on high-quality coatings in designing and bringing to market life-saving devices, such as neurovascular catheters,” said Daniel Guarnera, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “This merger threatens to disrupt competitive dynamics that have ultimately benefited patients. Today, the FTC is stepping in to protect patients from this unlawful acquisition.” G
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2025/02/27:
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Today, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson directed the FTC to form a Joint Labor Task Force that will work to prioritize rooting out and prosecuting deceptive, unfair, and anticompetitive labor-market practices that harm American workers. Pursuant to a memorandum issued by Chairman Ferguson, the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Bureau of Economics, and Office of Policy Planning are directed to work together to carry out a variety of responsibilities. The task force will focus on, for example, prioritizing investigations and prosecutions of deceptive, unfair, or anticompetitive labor market conduct and coordinating all such actions across the Bureaus, creating information-sharing protocols across the FTC’s Bureaus and offices to exchange best practices for uncovering and investigating such conduct, and promoting research regarding harmful labor market practices to inform the FTC and the public. A healthy labor market is critical to the country’s su
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2025/02/27:
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The Federal Trade Commission today finalized a consent order that requires building services contractor Planned Building Services and its affiliated companies to cease their enforcement of no-hire agreements. The FTC issued a complaint in January 2025 against Planned Building Services, Inc., Planned Security Services, Inc., Planned Lifestyle Services, Inc., and Planned Technologies Services, Inc. which do business as Planned Companies, (Planned), alleging that the companies’ enforcement of their no-hire agreements limited workers’ ability to negotiate for higher wages, better benefits, and improved working conditions. Under the no-hire agreements, residential and commercial building owners were limited from hiring building service workers that were employed by Planned. The no-hire agreements were included in customer service agreements with building owners, according to the FTC’s complaint. The final consent order places several restrictions and requirements on Planned, including order
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2025/02/21:
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Today, the Federal Trade Commission launched a public inquiry to better understand how technology platforms deny or degrade users’ access to services based on the content of their speech or affiliations, and how this conduct may have violated the law. Censorship by technology platforms is not just un-American, it is potentially illegal. Tech firms can employ confusing or unpredictable internal procedures that cut users off, sometimes with no ability appeal the decision. Such actions taken by tech platforms may harm consumers, affect competition, may have resulted from a lack of competition, or may have been the product of anti-competitive conduct. The FTC issued a Request for Information (RFI) requesting public comment on how consumers may have been harmed by technology platforms that limited their ability to share ideas or affiliations freely and openly. “Tech firms should not be bullying their users,” said FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson. “This inquiry will help the FTC b
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2025/02/19:
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Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson announced today that the FTC and Department of Justice’s joint 2023 Merger Guidelines are in effect and will serve as the framework for the FTC’s merger-review analysis. “Stability is good for the enforcement agencies. The wholesale rescission and reworking of guidelines is time consuming and expensive,” Chairman Ferguson said. “We should undertake this process sparingly. We have limited resources to patrol the beat and constant turnover undermines agency credibility.” Chairman Ferguson’s memo to staff on the Merger Guidelines can be found here
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2025/02/12:
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The Federal Trade Commission has adjusted the maximum civil penalty dollar amounts for violations of 16 provisions of law the FTC enforces, as required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015. The Act directs agencies to implement annual inflation adjustments based on a prescribed formula. The new maximum civil penalty amounts became effective once they were published in the Federal Register on January 17, 2025. The maximum civil penalty amount has increased from $51,744 to $53,088 for violations of Sections 5(l), 5(m)(1)(A), and 5(m)(1)(B) of the FTC Act, Section 7A(g)(l) of the Clayton Act, and Section 525(b) of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. It has increased from $680 to $698 for violations of Section 10 of the FTC Act. The maximum civil penalty amount has increased from $1,472,546 to $1,510,803 for violations of Section 814(a) of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The maximum civil penalty amounts for other law violations within the age
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2025/02/11:
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Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson has appointed Daniel Guarnera as Director of the Bureau of Competition. “I am thrilled Dan is joining the FTC as Director of the Bureau of Competition,” said Chairman Ferguson. “He has tremendous experience litigating antitrust cases in critical markets, including agriculture and Big Tech. Few lawyers in America have as much experience taking on Big Tech as Dan. He also has experience using the antitrust laws to promote competition in labor and healthcare markets—two of my top priorities. Under Dan’s leadership, the Bureau of Competition will do its part to fulfill President Trump’s promise to lower the cost of living for all Americans, to promote innovation, and to protect the interests of American workers.” Guarnera joins the Commission from the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, where he served as chief of the Civil Conduct Task Force. During his tenure, the task force filed monopolization suits again
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2025/01/23:
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The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on a petition by Enbridge Inc. requesting that the Commission reopen and set aside a final consent order issued in 2017 regarding Enbridge’s merger with energy infrastructure company Spectra Energy Corp. The FTC’s 2017 order with Enbridge settled charges alleging that the proposed merger between Enbridge and Spectra would harm competition in the market for pipeline transportation of natural gas in three production areas off the coast of Louisiana. The FTC’s complaint alleged the merger likely would reduce natural gas pipeline competition within the Green Canyon, Walker Ridge, and Keathley Canyon production areas in the Gulf of Mexico because, after the acquisition, Enbridge would have an indirect ownership interest in the Discovery pipeline, the main competitor to Enbridge’s own Walker Ridge pipeline. Under the final consent order Enbridge was required to establish firewalls to limit its access to non-public information
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2025/01/19:
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Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina M. Khan released a summary of the agency’s key accomplishments over the last four years that have improved Americans’ everyday lives and stopped illegal consolidation that raises prices and hampers innovation. These actions include : Putting Money Back in Americans’ Pocketbooks: The Commission has helped put more money back into the pockets of American consumers by banning junk fees for short-term lodging and live-event ticketing; finalizing a “click to cancel” rule requiring companies to make it just as easy to cancel subscriptions as it is to sign up; and banning auto dealers from sticking American consumers with junk fees. The agency took action against companies that use deceptive dark patterns to trick consumers into making unwanted purchases, obtaining more than $245 million for consumer refunds from Fortnite maker Epic Games . The FTC also secured $48 million in refunds for consumers who the agen
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2025/01/18:
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The Federal Trade Commission today finalized a consent order that resolves antitrust concerns surrounding Exxon Mobil Corporation’s (Exxon) acquisition of oil producer Pioneer Natural Resources. The final consent order settles FTC charges first announced in May 2024 . Under the final consent order , Exxon is prohibited from nominating, designating, or appointing founder and former Pioneer CEO Scott Sheffield to the Exxon board or from serving in an advisory capacity in any way to the Exxon board or Exxon’s management. Additionally, the final consent order requires that for a period of five years, Exxon shall not nominate, designate, or appoint any Pioneer employee or director, other than certain named individuals, to the Exxon board. In addition, under the final order, Exxon, for a period of 10 years, will agree to certain Clayton Act Section 8 attestation and reporting obligations. Following a public comment period, the Commission voted 3-2 to approve the final order, with Commissioners And
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2025/01/18:
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Today, the Federal Trade Commission finalized a consent order that requires building services contractor Guardian Service Industries, Inc. (Guardian) to stop enforcing a no-hire agreement. The FTC alleged in a complaint filed in December 2024 that Guardian’s no-hire agreement prohibited building owners and competing building service contractors from hiring Guardian’s employees. For Guardian employees—which include concierge personnel, custodians, and maintenance technicians—these no-hire agreements limit their ability to negotiate for higher wages, better benefits, and improved working conditions, the FTC’s complaint alleged. The final consent order places several requirements and restrictions on Guardian, including ordering Guardian to cease and desist from, directly or indirectly, enforcing a no-hire agreement or communicating to any prospective or current customer that a Guardian employee is subject to a no-hire agreement. Following a public comment period, the Commissio
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2025/01/18:
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The Federal Trade Commission today sued PepsiCo, Inc. (Pepsi) alleging that the second-largest food company in the world has engaged in illegal price discrimination by providing one customer—a large, big box retailer—with unfair pricing advantages, while raising prices for competing retailers and customers. For years, Pepsi has disadvantaged retailers—ranging from large grocery chains to independent, local convenience stores—who compete with one of its largest big box customers by consistently giving that favored large, big box retailer customer key benefits and advantages, such as promotional payments, while denying those same benefits to its competitors, the FTC’s complaint alleges. Pepsi’s unfair practices have led to inflated prices for American families, while denying competing retailers the ability to fairly compete. Pepsi’s illegal conduct violates the Robinson-Patman Act (RPA), the FTC’s complaint alleges. “When firms like Pepsi give massive
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2025/01/18:
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The Federal Trade Commission today finalized a consent order that resolves antitrust concerns surrounding Chevron Corporation’s acquisition of oil producer Hess Corporation. The final consent order settles charges brought by the FTC in September 2024 . Under the final consent order , Chevron is prohibited from nominating, designating, or appointing Hess CEO John B. Hess to the Chevron Board. Additionally, with certain exceptions noted below, under the final consent order, Chevron is prohibited from allowing John Hess to serve in an advisory or consulting capacity to, or as a representative of, Chevron or the Chevron Board. Under the final order, Chevron is allowed to consult with John Hess and allow him to serve as an advisor, consultant, or representative of Chevron, solely related to interactions and discussions with (a) Guyanese government officials about Hess’s oil-related and health ministry-related activities in Guyana, and (b) the Salk Institute’s Harnessing Plants Initiative. Followi