Announced Action for September 27, 2002

The Commission, with the concurrence of the U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust, has authorized the release of The Twenty-Fourth Annual Report to Congress Regarding the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Premerger Notification Program. The report summarizes Commission and Department of Justice (DOJ) actions conducted under the HSR Act in fiscal year 2001, noting that 2,376 premerger filings were received - 2,550 fewer than the 4,926 filings received in fiscal year 2000, the record for premerger filing receipts. It goes on to describe the HSR Act, and provides a historical overview of how it has been implemented since its enactment in the late 1970s. FY 2001 developments relating to compliance with the Premerger Notification Rules and Procedures are then presented, 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 1992-2001 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 2001. The Commission vote to issue the report was 5-0. (File No. P110014; staff contact is Marian Bruno, 202-326-2846.)

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