FTC Announces New HSR Reporting Thresholds for 2010

The Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (“HSR”) requires parties to transactions meeting certain size thresholds to make notification filings with the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and observe a waiting period before closing.  On January 19, 2010, the Federal Trade Commission announced decreases in the reporting thresholds under HSR.  Changes to the HSR reporting thresholds are made each year as a result of HSR amendments enacted in 2000 that require the FTC to adjust reporting and exemption thresholds annually based on changes in the Gross National Product.  The revised thresholds were published in the Federal Register on January 21, 2010 and will be effective for transactions that close on or after February 22, 2010.  2010 is the first year that the revisions to the thresholds have resulted in a reduction in the size of the relevant thresholds, increasing the number of transactions that are potentially reportable.