Horizontal Mergers Guidelines - Hot Action This Winter

Posted by D. Daniel Sokol

The dates for the different workshops are out.  Once again, I plead with DOJ/FTC people running the workshops that the first question that they ask all panelists is who has/will pay for their comments.  We need more transparency in the decision-making process.

The first workshop will take place on: December 3, 2009 FTC Conference Center 601 New Jersey Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20001 and via webcast.

The second workshop will take place on: December 8, 2009 NYU School of Law Greenberg Lounge 40 Washington Square South New York, NY 10012

The third workshop will take place on: December 10, 2009 Northwestern University School of Law Wieboldt Hall Room #147 340 E. Superior Street Chicago, Il 60611

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The fourth workshop will take place on: January 14, 2010 Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research Encina Hall, Bechtel Conference Room 616 Serra Street Stanford University Stanford, CA 94305

The fifth workshop will take place on: January 26, 2010 FTC Conference Center 601 New Jersey Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20001

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The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) solicit public comments and will hold joint public workshops to explore the possibility of updating the Horizontal Merger Guidelines that are used by both agencies to evaluate the potential competitive effects of mergers and acquistions.  The goal of the workshops will be to determine whether the Horizontal Merger Guidelines accurately reflect the current practice of merger review at the Department and the FTC as well as to take into account legal and economic developments that have occurred since the last significant Guidelines revision in 1992. 

Press Release (September 22, 2009) Public Comments Horizontal Merger Guidelines and Related Publications E-mail a Question

Introduction of Philip Lowe and Announcement of Joint FTC/DOJ Project to Modernize the Horizontal Merger Guidelines Remarks of FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz as prepared for delivery at the Third Annual Georgetown Law Global Antitrust Enforcement Symposium (September 22, 2009) Merger Guidelines Workshops Presented at the Third Annual Georgetown Law Global Antitrust Enforcement Symposium by Assistant Attorney General Christine A. Varney (September 22, 2009)

December 3, 2009 | Washington D.C.

WHEN: December 3, 2009 WHERE: FTC Conference Center 601 New Jersey Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20001 and via webcast.	Agenda (coming soon) Webcast (A live webcast will be available on the day of the event. Bookmark this page and visit it on December 3 to access to the webcast.) File a Comment Request to Participate Disability Accomodations LOCAL INFORMATION: Getting to the Conference Center Nearby Hotels Nearby Restaurants
This workshop will be free and open to the public. Seating will be on a first come, first served basis. Pre-registration is not required to attend. All attendees will be required to display a current driver's license or other valid form of photo identification.

December 8, 2009 | New York, NY

WHEN: December 8, 2009 WHERE: NYU School of Law Greenberg Lounge 40 Washington Square South New York, NY 10012	Agenda (coming soon) File a Comment Request to Participate
This workshop will be free and open to the public. Seating will be on a first come, first served basis. Pre-registration is not required to attend.

December 10, 2009 | Chicago, IL

WHEN: December 10, 2009 WHERE: Northwestern University School of Law Wieboldt Hall Room #147 340 E. Superior Street Chicago, Il 60611	Agenda (coming soon) File a Comment Request to Participate
This workshop will be free and open to the public. Seating will be on a first come, first served basis. Pre-registration is not required to attend.

January 14, 2010 | Stanford, CA

WHEN: January 14, 2010 WHERE: Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research Encina Hall, Bechtel Conference Room 616 Serra Street Stanford University Stanford, CA 94305	Agenda (coming soon) File a Comment Request to Participate
This workshop will be free and open to the public. Seating will be on a first come, first served basis. Pre-registration is not required to attend.

January 26, 2010 | Washington, DC

WHEN: January 26, 2010 WHERE: FTC Conference Center 601 New Jersey Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20001	Agenda (coming soon) File a Comment Request to Participate
This workshop will be free and open to the public. Seating will be on a first come, first served basis. Pre-registration is not required to attend.

COMMENTS

In connection with the workshops, interested parties are invited to submit written comments or original research. A list of specific questions to inform the first workshop discussions is set forth below;  the agencies may post additional questions relevant to subsequent workshops discussions at a later date. Initial comments should be submitted by November 9, 2009, to ensure ample time for consideration prior to the first workshop. Comments should refer to “HMG Review Project – Comment, Project No. P092900.” To file electronically, follow the instructions and fill out the form at https://public.commentworks.com/ftc/hmgworkshop1. Paper comments should include the above reference both in the text and on the envelope, and should be mailed or delivered to:         Federal Trade Commission         Office of the Secretary, Room H-135 (Annex P)         600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW,         Washington, DC 20580 Comments containing confidential material, however, must be filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled “Confidential,” and must comply with Commission Rule 4.9(c). The FTC requests that any paper comments be sent by courier or overnight service, if possible, because postal mail in the Washington area and at the Commission is subject to delay due to heightened security precautions. Initial Questions for Comment [PDF]

REQUEST TO PARTICIPATE

Individuals and organizations may submit requests to participate as panelists. The requests should be submitted electronically to hmgworkshops@ftc.gov.  Prospective panelists for the first workshop should submit a short statement (100 words) summarizing a proposed presentation no later than November 9, 2009. Deadlines for requesting to participate in the other workshops will be posted at a later date.