ABA Panel Recap: “The PE Effect: Antitrust Scrutiny Abounds”

ABA Antitrust Law Section, 2024

Manager Jane Choi and Associate Guilherme Neves Silveira published a summary of the “The PE Effect: Antitrust Scrutiny Abounds” panel, which took place at the American Bar Association (ABA) Antitrust Law Spring Meeting. The panel was moderated by John Snyder (Alston & Bird) and featured panelists Norm Armstrong (Kirkland & Ellis), Rebekah Goshorn Jurata (American Investment Council), Leslie Overton (Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider), and Richard Mosier (Federal Trade Commission). The discussion focused on the increased scrutiny of private equity (PE) firms and antitrust considerations around evolving regulatory rules relevant to the PE business model.

In their article, Drs. Choi and Neves Silveira summarize a panel discussion that began with an explanation of the PE business model, with panelists noting that PE firms provide funding for many companies. The discussants then addressed how regulatory agencies factor in the PE business model when assessing competition issues and highlighted several statutes that are relevant to antitrust enforcement and PE. The panelists also explored the evolution of pre-merger filing requirements under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, including proposed revisions that would increase the amount of information acquiring parties need to disclose. They also discussed two recent enforcement efforts in which US antitrust authorities challenged PE firms’ proposed acquisitions because of monopolization concerns. The panel closed with a discussion of whether the PE business model is inherently harmful to competition, with panelists analyzing conflicting evidence from academic studies.

The article, “ABA Panel Recap: ‘The PE Effect: Antitrust Scrutiny Abounds,’” was published by the ABA Antitrust Law Section.

Read the panel recap

Authors

Choi J, Neves Silveira G