2019-26075. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

ACTION:

Notice and request for comment.

SUMMARY:

The FTC requests that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) extend for three years the current PRA clearance for information collection requirements contained in the Antitrust Improvements Act Rules (“HSR Rules”) and corresponding Notification and Report Form for Certain Mergers and Acquisitions (“Notification and Report Form”). The current clearance expires on December 31, 2019.

DATES:

Comments must be received by January 2, 2020.

ADDRESSES:

Comments in response to this notice should be submitted to the OMB Desk Officer for the Federal Trade Commission within 30 days of this notice. You may submit comments using any of the following methods:

Electronic: Write “HSR Rules: PRA Comment, P072108,” on your comment and file your comment online at https://www.regulations.gov,, by following the instructions on the web-based form.

Email: [e-mail].

Fax: [phone].

Mail: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal Trade Commission, New Executive Office Building, Docket Library, Room 10102, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Robert L. Jones, Assistant Director, Premerger Notification Office, Bureau of Competition, Federal Trade Commission, Room CC-5301, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580, or by telephone to [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: HSR Rules and Notification and Report Form, 16 CFR parts 801-803.

OMB Control Number: 3084-0005.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Abstract: Section 7A of the Clayton Act (“Act”), 15 U.S.C. 18a, as amended by the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, Public Law 94-435, 90 Stat. 1390, requires all persons contemplating certain mergers or acquisitions to file notification with the Commission and the Assistant Attorney General and to wait a designated period of time before consummating such transactions. Congress empowered the Commission, with the concurrence of the Assistant Attorney General, to require “that the notification . . . be in such form and contain such documentary material and information . . . as is necessary and appropriate” to enable the agencies “to determine whether such acquisitions may, if consummated, violate the antitrust laws.” 15 U.S.C. 18a(d). Congress similarly granted rulemaking authority to, among other things, “prescribe such other rules as may be necessary and appropriate to carry out the purposes of this section.” Id.

Pursuant to that section, the Commission, with the concurrence of the Assistant Attorney General, developed the HSR Rules and the corresponding Notification and Report Form.

On September 11, 2019, the Commission sought comment on the reporting requirements associated with the HSR Rules and corresponding Notification and Report Form. 84 FR 47951. No relevant comments were received. Pursuant to the OMB regulations, 5 CFR part 1320, that implement the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., the FTC is providing this second opportunity for public comment while seeking OMB approval to renew the pre-existing clearance for those information collection requirements.

The following discussion presents the FTC's PRA burden analysis regarding completion of the Notification and Report Form. For more details about the requirements of the HSR Rules, the background behind these information collection provisions, and the basis for the calculations summarized below, see 84 FR 47951.

Likely Respondents: Merging Parties.

Estimated Annual Hours Burden: 181,091 hours [derived from 4,894 non-index filings × 37 hours/each) + (five index filings × two hours/each) + (one withdrawn transaction later restarted × three hours)].

Estimated Annual Cost Burden: $83,301,860, which is derived from $460/hour × 181,091 hours.

Request for Comment

Your comment—including your name and your state—will be placed on the public record of this proceeding at the https://www.regulations.gov website. Because your comment will be made public, you are solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive personal information, such as anyone's Social Security number; date of birth; driver's license number or other state identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number; financial account number; or credit or debit card number. You are also solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive health information, such as medical records or other individually identifiable health information. In addition, your comment should not include any “trade secret or any commercial or financial information which . . . is privileged or confidential”—as provided by Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)—including in particular competitively sensitive information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.

Heather Hippsley,

Deputy General Counsel.