Increase in HSR Reportability Thresholds and Other HSR Developments

On January 23, 2023, the FTC also announced the updated thresholds for the Clayton Act Section 8’s prohibition on interlocking directorates.In September 2022, DOJ issued letters to several publicly-traded companies and investors, stating that it may file lawsuits against them for maintaining interlocking directorates in violation of Section 8.In that same announcement, DOJ stated that this would be “the first in a broader review of potentially unlawful interlocking directorates.We are ramping up efforts to identify violations across the broader economy, and we will not hesitate to bring Section 8 cases to break up interlocking directorates.

of Justice, Speech: Effective Antitrust Enforcement: The Future Is Now (June 3, 2022) (“Section 8, which prohibits interlocking directorates, helps prevent antitrust crimes before they occur.That’s because interlocking directorates can facilitate the exchange of competitively sensitive information and coordination between competing companies.