The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved social media
heavyweight Twitter's $350 million stock acquisition of
MoPub. Twitter's purchase of the mobile advertising
exchange, which helps companies place ads on mobile devices, is
expected to enhance Twitter's ability to tailor mobile ads to
users. The size of the deal triggered the Hart-Scott Rodino
(HSR) Act's mandatory filing requirement, but the FTC concluded
that the acquisition posed no anticompetitive obstacles.
This high-profile transaction is a reminder of the value of good
planning and involving antitrust counsel early in the planning
process, even where the parties do not anticipate significant
antitrust issues. With enough advance warning, counsel can
work with the antitrust agencies to showcase the procompetitive
aspects of the transaction, mitigate any problematic aspects and
seek rapid clearance of deals that, at least from a competitive
standpoint, are relatively straightforward. In
