Only days apart, both the US Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission announced their first consent decrees to resolve competitive concerns that they identified in merger investigations, putting into practice their leaderships’ statements that the agencies are open to settlements that will effectively address competitive concerns. WilmerHale represented its client Keysight Technologies in both these landmark matters.

This development is especially notable at DOJ, which entered only one consent decree in a merger case during the Biden Administration, and that was to resolve ongoing litigation.

A WilmerHale team led by Partners Lee Greenfield and Hartmut Schneider represented Keysight in DOJ’s investigation of Keysight’s proposed acquisition of Spirent Communications in the telecommunications test and measurement industry, which the DOJ cleared through a consent decree on June 2.

Partners Greenfield and Oliver Fleischmann led a team representing Keysight as the proposed buyer of electronic design automation-related assets to be divested to resolve FTC competitive concerns regarding Synopsys, Inc.’s $35 billion proposed acquisition of Ansys. The FTC announced the settlement on May 28.

Partner Cormac O’Daly led a team that represented Keysight before the UK Competition and Markets Authority in both transactions.

These milestones reflect WilmerHale’s preeminent practice in successfully representing clients in complex, multinational merger investigations.