Antitrust

The Fifth Circuit has temporarily halted litigation regarding the Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger notification form until the end of 2026. This stay provides the FTC and DOJ time to potentially revise the form to better align with compliance needs, affecting future merger evaluations for procurement professionals.

The DOJ requires CalPortland to divest three concrete plants to maintain competition as part of a $712 million acquisition of Vulcan Materials' assets. This regulatory action highlights the importance of antitrust scrutiny in construction procurement and signals opportunities for competitors in the ready-mix concrete sector.

A new bipartisan Patients Before Monopolies (PBM) Act seeks to ban PBM ownership of pharmacies. This legislation increases regulatory scrutiny and compliance burdens for healthcare contractors, potentially reshaping procurement strategies across the pharmaceutical sector.

The FTC has mandated the divestiture of Cantaloupe's Three Square Market unit in a pivotal $848 million transaction. This decision is expected to preserve market competition in the micromarket industry and offers significant implications for future acquisitions and procurement strategies within emerging technologies.