On December 29, 2022, President Joe Biden signed a funding bill
into law that includes provisions that significantly change the
filing fees for mergers & acquisitions notifiable under the
Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act.
For transactions valued at more than $5 billion, HSR filing fees
are set to jump approximately 800% – from $280,000 to $2.25
million – and will be adjusted for smaller transactions.
Notably, the funds are earmarked to provide additional resources to
antitrust enforcers, which may lead to increased enforcement
efforts.
The date for implementation of the new fees is not yet set. The
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is expected to announce an effective
date soon.
The HSR Act requires that parties to mergers & acquisitions
notify the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FTC if proposed
acquisitions meet certain “size-of-person” and
“size-of-transaction” thresholds. Parties are
required to pay a fee, which currently ranges from $45,000 to
$280,000, to the
