FTC Announces Revised Thresholds For Premerger Notification Filings Under The HSR Act

On January 18, 2008, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") announced revised thresholds for premerger notification filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 ("HSR Act"). The new thresholds will take effect thirty days after they are published in the Federal Register, which is expected to occur this week. Therefore the new thresholds should be effective on or about February 25, 2008. The HSR Act requires all parties contemplating certain mergers or acquisitions that meet or exceed the jurisdictional thresholds to notify the FTC and Department of Justice Antitrust Division ("DOJ"), and to wait for certain statutorily prescribed periods of time, prior to con­summating the transactions.