USA
Also known as HSR Act and Hart-Scott-Rodino.
A federal law requiring parties to certain proposed transactions (such as mergers and acquisitions) to file a notification with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division. These parties must wait a specified time period before consummating the proposed transaction. During the waiting period, regulators may request additional information or time to review the transaction in order to determine if the transaction is in violation of the federal antitrust laws.
The Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 provides that parties to large transactions must notify the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice and the US Federal Trade Commission of such transactions in order that they may review them and decide whether a full-scale investigation is warranted. There are three basic tests (the commerce test, the size of persons test and the size of transaction test), all of which must be satisfied in order for the Act to apply and for a filing to be required under the Act.
Practical Law Dictionary. Glossary of UK, US and international legal terms. www.practicallaw.com. 2010.