Lessons Learned From Recent Penalties For Failures To File HSR Notification

Two recent enforcement actions for failure to file notification under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (the "HSR Act")—one against a corporate investor and one against an investment firm—along with a similar action brought against a company executive about 18 months earlier, serve as reminders to individual investors, companies, and their executives of the consequences of failing to comply with the HSR Act.

• Corporate investor Barry Diller agreed on July 2, 2013, to pay a civil penalty of $480,000 to settle Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") charges for failing to file HSR notification in connection with his acquisitions of Coca-Cola stock.
• The FTC settled similar charges against investment firm MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings, Inc. ("MacAndrews & Forbes") on June 20, 2013, for failing to file HSR notification in connection with the firm's acquisition of voting securities of Scientific Games. MacAndrews & Forbes, which is a wholly-owned