The US antitrust agencies are requiring firms to turn over much more information about their transactions than before in an overhaul to merger rules that could delay deals by months, according to a Bloomberg News reported. The revamp of the so-called Hart-Scott-Rodino filing process, a move by the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission to crack down on illegal mergers, could add as much as two to three months to the timetable for deals, according to one estimate. The agencies say the overhaul, the first in 45 years, will allow them to “more effectively and efficiently screen transactions” for antitrust concerns. The proposed changes, released Tuesday for publication in the Federal Register later this week, require details about acquisitions during the previous 10 years, information on company officers, directors and board observers, in addition to data on the firms’ workforce. The agencies will take public comments on the proposed changes for 60 days. The new rules won’t go into effect until after the FTC and DOJ publish a final version, which is expected to take several months to complete.
