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Commission Approves FY 2008 HSR Premerger Notification Report

The Commission, with the concurrence of the U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust, has released the Thirty-First Annual Report to Congress Regarding the Hart-Scott-Rodino Premerger Notification Program. The report summarizes Commission and Department of Justice actions conducted under the HSR Act in fiscal year (FY) 2008. During FY 2008 (October 1, 2007 through September 30, 2008), 1,726 premerger transactions were reported under the HSR Act; this is a decrease of 22 percent from the 2,201 transactions reported in FY 2007. The report describes the HSR Act and provides an overview of how the federal antitrust agencies have implemented the Act since its enactment in the late 1970s.

The report presents FY 2008 developments relating to compliance with the Premerger Notification Rules and Procedures, followed by a discussion of both FTC and DOJ merger enforcement activities during the year. Finally, the report includes a summary of the ongoing reassessment of the effects of the Premerger Notification Program. Appendices provide a summary of transactions for fiscal years 1999-2008, and the number of transactions reported as filings by month during this time. A statistical table presents data profiling HSR filings and enforcement interest during FY 2008. The Commission vote to issue the report was 4-0. The report is available on the FTC’s Web site as a link to this press release and at www.ftc.gov/os/2009/07/hsrreport.pdf. (FTC File No. P110014; the staff contact is Robert L. Jones, Office of Premerger Notification, 202-326-2740.)

FTC Approves Final Consent Order in Matter Concerning Alta Bates Medical Group

Following a public comment period, the Commission has approved a final consent order in the matter of Alta Bates Medical Group, Inc. The vote approving the final order was 4-0. (FTC File No. 051-0260; the staff contact is Sylvia Kundig, FTC Western Region, San Francisco, 415-848-5188; see press release dated June 4, 2009, at http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/06/altabates.shtm.)

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC’s Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. Call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.

(FYI 33.2009.wpd)