HSR Rules On Automatic Withdrawal Of Filings

Following the publication of proposed rules back in February, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued final rules to establish procedures for the withdrawal of Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) filings. The rules, which do not differ from those originally proposed in February, codify the informal "pull and refile" practice parties sometime use to allow an agency an additional 30 days to review a transaction (in the hopes of staving off a Second Request).

The rules also establish a procedure for automatically withdrawing HSR filings when parties make certain filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announcing that a transaction has been abandoned. In the interest of not spending resources on "hypothetical" transactions, HSR filings will be automatically withdrawn when, in the case of a tender offer (TO), the tender offer has expired, terminated or has otherwise been withdrawn, resulting in a filing of an amended...