A U.S. federal judge in Tyler, Texas, has blocked a rule that expanded the scope of information companies must submit when seeking regulatory approval for mergers, concluding that the Federal Trade Commission exceeded its statutory authority in issuing the measure.
The regulation, finalized in 2024, required companies pursuing mergers and acquisitions to supply additional data to antitrust enforcers at the FTC and the U.S. Department of Justice. The change prompted a wave of filings from some dealmakers who sought approval before the rule became effective last February in order to avoid its reporting obligations.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce brought suit last year challenging the rule. U.S. District Judge Jeremy Kernodle, an appointee of President Donald Trump, wrote that the FTC had not shown the rule's benefits would outweigh its costs. "Though the FTC asserts that the rule will detect illegal mergers and save agency resources, the FTC fails to substantiate these assertions," he wrote.
The ruling notes that the agency did not provide sufficient evidence that the new disclosure requirements would produce net gains that justified the burdens they would impose on merging parties and on the agency itself.
FTC officials are reviewing the decision. "We are reviewing the ruling and weighing our options," a spokesperson for the agency said.
While the measure was finalized near the end of the prior administration, the current FTC chairman, Andrew Ferguson, who served as a commissioner at the time the rule was adopted, supported the change and described it as "a lawful improvement over the status quo."
The Chamber has defended its challenge. Daryl Joseffer, executive vice president of the Chamber's litigation center, said in response to the court's decision: "We are pleased with the court's decision today rejecting the Biden Administration's onerous merger tax."
The organization suing to block the rule was characterized by an FTC spokesperson in strongly worded terms: "The Chamber of Commerce is a left-wing, open borders supporting activist group." The Chamber did not comment on that description; a Chamber spokesperson declined to address the FTC spokesperson's characterization.
The Chamber is the largest U.S. business lobby and its board includes executives from a range of large companies, including FedEx, Sempra, Abbott Laboratories, Fidelity Investments, Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Nasdaq.
The court's decision removes immediate obligation for the expanded disclosures while litigation proceeds, and it underscores judicial scrutiny of administrative rules where courts find insufficient evidentiary support for asserted benefits relative to regulatory costs.
Separately included in the original report were promotional claims regarding an investment product. Those promotional statements are not relevant to the court ruling and have not been integrated into this legal and regulatory summary.