Long-Awaited Revisions To HSR Reporting Rules Set To Take Effect This January

The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") has announced a final rulemaking on a unanimous vote that will expand the reporting requirements for mergers and acquisitions under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (the "HSR Act"). The new reporting requirements will go into effect after the new year in mid-January 2025. No changes will be made to the scope of transactions that are subject to HSR reporting.

The slate of changes, while less onerous than the expansive rules initially proposed in June 2023, nevertheless will change the reporting landscape and add significant additional disclosures to the HSR process. The 5-0 vote no doubt represents a compromise on the scope of the expanded reporting. According to Republican FTC Commissioner Melissa Holyoak's statement issued on the rulemaking, "[o]f the twenty-nine primary proposals in the NPRM, ten were rejected entirely, including, among others, the request for labor information, the obligation to produce