2012-1867. Revised Jurisdictional Thresholds for Section 7A of the Clayton Act

AGENCY:

Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Federal Trade Commission announces the revised thresholds for the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 required by the 2000 amendment of Section 7A of the Clayton Act.

DATES:

Effective Date: February 27, 2012.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

B. Michael Verne, Federal Trade Commission, Bureau of Competition, Premerger Notification Office, [phone], Room 301, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Section 7A of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. 18a, as added by the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, Public Law 94-435, 90 Stat. 1390 (“the Act”), requires all persons contemplating certain mergers or acquisitions, which meet or exceed the jurisdictional thresholds in the Act, to file notification with the Commission and the Assistant Attorney General and to wait a designated period of time before consummating such transactions. Section 7A(a)(2) requires the Federal Trade Commission to revise those thresholds annually, based on the change in gross national product, in accordance with Section 8(a)(5). Note that while the filing fee thresholds are revised annually, the actual filing fees are not similarly indexed and, as a result, have not been adjusted for inflation in over a decade. The new thresholds, which take effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, are as follows:

Subsection of 7A	Original threshold (million)	Adjusted threshold (million)
7A(a)(2)(A)	$200	$272.8
7A(a)(2)(B)(i)	50	68.2
7A(a)(2)(B)(i)	200	272.8
7A(a)(2)(B)(ii)(i)	10	13.6
7A(a)(2)(B)(ii)(i)	100	136.4
7A(a)(2)(B)(ii)(II)	10	13.6
7A(a)(2)(B)(ii)(II)	100	136.4
7A(a)(2)(B)(ii)(III)	100	136.4
7A(a)(2)(B)(ii)(III)	10	13.6
Section 7A note: Assessment and Collection of Filing Fees 1 (3)(b)(1)	100	136.4
Section 7A note: Assessment and Collection of Filing Fees (3)(b)(2)	100	136.4
Section 7A note: Assessment and Collection of Filing Fees (3)(b)(2)	500	682.1
Section 7A note: Assessment and Collection of Filing Fees (3)(b)(3)	500	682.1
Any reference to these thresholds and related thresholds and limitation values in the HSR rules.
1 Public Law 106-553, Sec. 630(b) amended Sec. 18a note.

(16 CFR Parts 801-803) and the Antitrust Improvements Act Notification and Report Form and its Instructions will also be adjusted, where indicated by the term “(as adjusted)”, as follows:

Original threshold	Adjusted threshold (million)
$10 million	$13.6
50 million	68.2
100 million	136.4
110 million	150.1
200 million	272.8
500 million	682.1
1 billion	1,364.1

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 18a.

By direction of the Commission.

Donald S. Clark,

Secretary.