The Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider mergers and acquisitions practice is led by some of the nation's most experienced and respected antitrust lawyers.  Our track record of obtaining unconditional clearance of combinations of significant rivals has buttressed AVH's reputation as a "go to" firm for important strategic mergers and acquisitions.  AVH combines its extensive experience before the Antitrust Division and FTC, as well as outside the United States, with its ability to develop and present sophisticated econometric arguments to obtain clearance of mergers and acquisitions that at first blush seem to raise insurmountable difficulties.

AVH has obtained antitrust clearance for some of the most significant transactions in recent years, including Google’s $700 million acquisition of ITA Software, George’s acquisition of assets from Tyson, Bemis’ $1.2 billion acquisition of Alcan Packaging’s Food Americas division, Thermo Fisher Scientific’s $2.1 billion acquisition of Dionex, GHI’s merger with HIP (forming a company with over $7 billion in annual revenue), SunGard’s $825 million acquisition of the business recovery assets of Comdisco,  A&P’s $679 million acquisition of Pathmark, Cingular Wireless's $41 billion acquisition of AT&T Wireless, AT&T’s $67 billion acquisition of BellSouth, Omnicare's $1.33 billion acquisition of NeighborCare, Ball’s $577 million acquisition of can manufacturing plants from Anheuser-Busch InBev, Harcourt’s $4 billion sale to Reed Elsevier and Thompson, and Wolters Kluwer’s $1 billion acquisition of NDC Health.   

In those deals and many others, we have represented numerous clients before the United States, Canadian, European Union and state antitrust authorities.  We also regularly counsel U.S. clients on the international issues raised by potential mergers and acquisitions.   AVH has relationships in place with leading firms in all nations that have active antitrust merger review regimes and frequently serves as worldwide coordinating counsel on transactions requiring multiple cross-border filings

AVH has unparalleled experience in litigating Section 7 challenges to mergers.  In United States v. SunGard Data Systems, we obtained a judgment on the merits rejecting the Antitrust Division's bid to block SunGard's acquisition of the business continuity assets of its rival, Comdisco Inc.   AVH also successfully litigated against the Antitrust Division in the context of a post-consummation transaction in United States v. George’s Foods, LLC, and successfully litigated against the City of New York in its efforts to stop GHI’s acquisition of HIP.  Our attorneys have also used Section 7 claims to successfully resist hostile acquisitions such as Apollo’s attempted acquisition of Vantico. 

AVH lawyers have been hired by antitrust enforcers to challenge mergers, including Stephen  Axinn and John Harkrider being retained by the DOJ to investigate and then act as lead trial counsel to stop the largest merger ever challenged by the DOJ (WorldCom’s attempted acquisition of Sprint).  The firm was also hired by the New York State Attorney General to challenge a series of acquisitions that lead to the monopolization of the market for Jewish funeral homes in New York City.

AVH recognizes the critical role that expert testimony, from both economists and industry experts, plays in obtaining clearance for difficult transactions, both before the regulatory agencies and in the courts.  AVH partner John Harkrider, for example, was the principal editor of the ABA’s Econometrics handbook.  He and other AVH lawyers not only have close relationships with many of the leading antitrust economists in the United States, but bring to bear their own expertise in effectively managing and presenting such expert testimony. 

AVH also regularly counsels companies, investment funds and other organizations regarding filing obligations under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 ("HSR Act").  Senior partner Stephen Axinn co-authored the leading treatise on the HSR Act, Acquisitions Under The Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act.

News

• AVH Wins in 2nd Circuit GHI HIP Merger
• AVH Represents Google in its $700 Million Acquisition of ITA
• Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP Successfully Defeats the City of New York’s Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order Seeking to Enjoin the Affiliation Between Group Health Incorporated and the Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York
• AVH Obtains Antitrust Clearance for Rent-Way, Inc.'s $567 Million Acquisition by Rent-A-Center
• AVH Obtains Antitrust Clearance for Omnicare's Acquisition of Rival Neighborcare
• AVH Wins Antitrust Clearance for Movie Gallery's Acquisition of Hollywood Video
• AVH Makes Top 20 U.S. Deal Firms by The Deal
• AVH Counsels BellSouth and Cingular in Acquisition of AT&T Wireless
• Global Competition Review Names AV&H in Top 100 firms in Annual Survey
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Articles & Newsletters

• Patent Misuse: The Questions That Linger Post-Princo
• Department of Justice Approves Whirlpool-Maytag Merger
• FTC and DOJ Issue Joint Commentary on the Horizontal Merger Guidelines
• FTC Announces Reforms to the Merger Review Process: Attempt to Make Second Requests Less Onerous
• Risk-Shifting Provisions and Antitrust Risk: An Empirical Examination
• Rethinking Second Requests
• FTC Challenges Merger Party's Claim of Second Request Compliance; Seeks Court Order Extending the Hart-Scott-Rodino Waiting Period
• FTC Announces Revised Reporting Rules Under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act For Partnerships, LLCs, and Other Unincorporated Entities
• Increase of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Merger Notification Thresholds
• Proving Anticompetitive Impact: Moving Past Merger Guidelines Presumptions
• FTC Administrative Complaint Signals Increasing Willingness to Challenge Consummated Mergers
• Non-Reportable Smaller Deals May Present Greater Risks, Costs Than Big-Ticket Deals That Must Be Reported to FTC, DOJ
• FTC’s New Merger Review Guidelines are Helpful, But Early Negotiation Remains Important
• View More ›