DealLawyers.com Blog

Here’s the summary of this Goodwin Procter memo:

In yet another example of the Obama Administration’s continued vigorous enforcement of the antitrust laws, the Federal Trade Commission successfully sued and ultimately blocked the acquisition of Office Depot, Inc. by Staples, Inc. This litigation provides another reminder to potential merging entities that a careful assessment of the antitrust risks is an essential component to any transaction and that closing is by no means guaranteed, especially where the merging parties are close competitors and where the parties’ defenses are predicated closely on concepts of new and disruptive entrants. In this alert, we provide a detailed overview of the litigation itself, as well as some key takeaways for clients considering their own transactions.