Additional changes to regulations under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (the Act), will become effective on April 17, 2002. The Act requires certain parties intending to merge, purchase or sell voting securities or assets or engage in other acquisition transactions to provide the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) with certain information about their operations and the transaction for review prior to consummation of the transaction. The most significant changes to the regulations under the Act relate to the reportability of certain acquisitions of foreign assets and voting securities of foreign issuers by either U.S. or foreign persons and follow numerous other changes to the Act, which became effective in 2001. Certain regulations determine whether an individual or entity is considered a U.S. or foreign person for purposes of the Act and, in each case, consider the person’s ultimate parent entity. U.S. persons, for
