FTC Rule Change Simplifies Process Following A Denial Of A Preliminary Injunction Motion

On March 14, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced procedural revisions governing the FTC process when it loses an injunction bid in federal court, to block the consummation of a merger pending its in-house administrative proceedings on the legality of the merger.

When the FTC seeks to challenge a merger, the FTC generally seeks an injunction in court to prevent consummation of the merger pending the outcome of an internal administrative proceeding.  If the injunction is implemented, it prevents the parties from integrating the assets and preserves the FTC's ability to effectively and efficiently fix the merger should it be warranted at the conclusion of the administrative proceeding.