DOJ Settles ValueAct Case with Largest-Ever Penalty for an HSR Act Violation

Yesterday, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that it has settled its lawsuit against ValueAct Capital Management L.P. (“ValueAct”) for violating the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (the “HSR Act”). The settlement is noteworthy for two principal reasons: (i) the size of the civil penalty ($11 million); and (ii) the scope of the injunctive relief, which may signal an increasingly restrictive approach to the availability of the “investment-only” HSR exemption for certain investment firms.