Konkurencja i konsument · 15.08.2005

Premerger Notification; Reporting and Waiting Period Requirements

The Commission is proposing amendments to the premerger notification rules ("the rules") to enable filing parties to provide Internet links to certain documents in lieu of paper copies, and to address "stale filing" situations, in which parties make premerger notification filings but then fail to comply with a Request for Additional Information and Documentary Material ("second request"). Section 7A of the Clayton Act ("the Act") requires the parties to certain mergers and acquisitions to file notification with the Federal Trade Commission ("the Commission" or "FTC") and the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice ("the Assistant Attorney General" or "DOJ") and to wait a specified period of time before consummating such transactions. The reporting and waiting period requirements are intended to enable these enforcement agencies to determine whether a proposed merger or acquisition may violate the antitrust laws if consummated and, when appropriate, to seek a preliminary injunction in Federal court to prevent consummation. If either agency determines during the waiting period that further inquiry is necessary, it can issue a second