
MONTH-IN-BRIEF (Jan 2025)
Antitrust Law
FTC Secures Record Gun-Jumping Settlement in Energy Transaction
By Barbara Sicalides, Joe Farside, Van Jolas, and Julian Weiss, Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) announced a record-setting gun-jumping fine related to Verdun Oil Company II LLC’s acquisition of EP Energy LLC on January 7.[1] The parties agreed to divest certain operations pursuant to a 2022 consent decree to address competition issues, but the current action did not allege new concerns about the postclosing effects of the transaction on competition. Instead, the sole issue raised in the DOJ’s complaint[2] was the manner in which the parties operated during the Hart-Scott-Rodino (“HSR”) Act[3] waiting period and the interim period, between execution of the purchase agreement and closing.