FTC Takes Up Strengthening Merger Review Reporting Requirements

Companies’ reporting requirements for pursuing startups and other acquisitions are poised for an overhaul as the FTC considers reviving a decades-old policy on deals rife with future competition implications.

The Federal Trade Commission’s Wednesday meeting agenda contains a vote to rescind a 1995 policy statement that loosened merger review reporting requirements for acquisitions of startups and other smaller companies. Before 1995, companies that had settled with the FTC to get approval of an acquisition had to notify the agency for 10 years after the settlement of any deals, regardless of the deal size. The 1995 statement eliminated these requirements.

The ...