FTC Sees Uptick in 2023 Antitrust Requests

The FTC investigated 70% of Hart-Scott-Rodino merger transactions in fiscal 2023, the agency said in its annual report with DOJ on Thursday. DOJ issued second requests, the mechanism used to initiate an investigation, in 30% of transactions in 2023. There were 1,723 total HSR transactions in 2023, 124 of which received FTC clearance. DOJ received clearance on 61 of the transactions. The FTC in fiscal 2022 issued second requests on 53.2% of transactions it reviewed, and DOJ initiated investigations in about 47% of its cases. During President Donald Trump’s last year in office, fiscal 2020, the FTC issued requests on 48% of transactions, and DOJ issued requests on 52% of its cases. There were 1,580 total transactions in 2020 and 3,029 in 2022. The commission voted 3-2 to issue the 2023 report, with Republicans Melissa Holyoak and Andrew Ferguson dissenting. Holyoak and Ferguson urged the two agencies to fix discrepancies between how the FTC and DOJ report certain figures, specifically how they measure litigation results.