FTC Can’t Give Merger Data to States--Court

The Federal Trade Commission cannot share with state authorities the confidential data that it obtains from corporations involved in major mergers, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Reversing a lower court in Connecticut, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals said a provision in the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, designed to keep the confidential data out of the hands of the general public, also applies to state attorneys general who seek the information while preparing their own antitrust cases.

The FTC seeks the so-called pre-merger information, which often includes details of market share and other strategic information, in order to decide whether to block a combination that threatens to weaken competition.

State officials also have the power to bring antitrust suits to block such mergers, but there is no federal requirement that companies furnish similar data to the states.

Oversight Committees

“We doubt if Congress would have intended to have the staffs of 50 state attorneys general sitting as oversight committees reacting to (FTC) or Justice Department decisions whether to block large-scale mergers of national or international significance,” the court said in a decision released Monday.