The National Association of Manufacturers is pushing back on proposed changes by the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice that would expand filing requirements drastically for companies considering mergers, harming manufacturers of all sizes.
Last week, NAM urged the FTC to withdraw the proposed changes to “protect businesses’ ability to grow and drive economic expansion in the United States.”
“The proposed amendments to the HSR (Hart-Scott-Rodino) Rules would stifle job-creating growth in the manufacturing industry without any corresponding benefit to the Agencies, merging parties, or the public,” NAM said.
“The new and unduly burdensome information and processes required by the amendments represent a major overhaul of established, well-understood standards that have been relied upon by businesses and regulators for more than 45 years.”
In June, the FTC—with the agreement of the Antitrust Division of the DOJ—announced an overhaul of the premerger notification rules under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act.
The HSR Act requires companies to provide notice to the FTC prior to consummating a merger, but the FTC’s proposed changes would lead to as much as a sevenfold increase in the time it takes to file the HSR form, according to the proposal.
The proposed amendments would also necessitate complex and lengthy information reporting, as well as significantly enhanced document production—resulting in disclosure overload for companies pursuing mergers or acquisitions.
