[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 68 (Thursday, April 8, 2004)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 18686-18721]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-7537]



[[Page 18685]]

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Part II





Federal Trade Commission





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16 CFR Parts 801, 802 and 803



Premerger Notification; Reporting and Waiting Period Requirements; 
Proposed Rule

  Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 68 / Thursday, April 8, 2004 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 18686]]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

16 CFR Parts 801, 802 and 803


Premerger Notification; Reporting and Waiting Period Requirements

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Commission is proposing amendments to the premerger 
notification rules (``the rules'') that attempt to reconcile, as far as 
is practical, the current disparate treatment of corporations, 
partnerships, limited liability companies and other types of non-
corporate entities under the rules. The rules require the parties to 
certain mergers and acquisitions to file reports with the Federal Trade 
Commission (``the Commission'') and the Assistant Attorney General in 
charge of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (``the 
Assistant Attorney General'') and to wait a specified period of time 
before consummating such transactions. The reporting and waiting period 
requirements are intended to enable these enforcement agencies to 
determine whether a proposed merger or acquisition may violate the 
antitrust laws if consummated and, when appropriate, to seek a 
preliminary injunction in federal court to prevent consummation. This 
proposed rulemaking introduces a number of changes that attempt to 
reconcile, as far as is practical, the current disparate treatment of 
corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies and other types 
of non-corporate entities under the rules, particularly in the areas of 
acquisitions of interests in these entities; formations of the 
entities; and the application of certain exemptions, including the 
intraperson exemption.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 4, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments. 
Comments should refer to ``HSR Proposed Rulemaking, Project No. 
P989316,'' to facilitate the organization of comments. A comment filed 
in paper form should include this reference both in the text and on the 
envelope, and should be mailed or delivered to the following address: 
Federal Trade Commission/Office of the Secretary, Room H-159 (Annex E), 
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20580. Comments containing 
confidential material must be filed in paper form. The FTC is 
requesting that any comment filed in paper form be sent by courier or 
overnight service, if possible, because U.S. postal mail in the 
Washington area and at the Commission is subject to delay due to 
heightened security precautions.
    An electronic comment can be filed by (1) clicking on http://www.regulations.gov; (2) selecting ``Federal Trade Commission'' at 
``Search for Open Regulations;'' (3) locating the summary of this 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (``NPR''); (4) clicking on ``Submit a 
Comment on this Regulation;'' and (5) completing the form. For a given 
electronic comment, any information placed in the following fields--
``Title,'' ``First Name,'' ``Last Name,'' ``Organization Name,'' 
``State,'' ``Comment,'' and ``Attachment''--will be publicly available 
on the FTC Web site. The fields marked with an asterisk on the form are 
required in order for the FTC to fully consider a particular comment. 
Commenters may choose not to fill in one or more of these fields, but 
if they do so, their comments may not be considered.
    Comments on any proposed filing, recordkeeping, or disclosure 
requirements that are subject to paperwork burden review under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act should additionally be submitted to: Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 
New Executive Office Building, Room 10102, Washington, DC 20503, 
Attention: Carolyn Lovett, Desk Officer for Federal Trade Commission. 
Such comments should also be mailed to the following address: Federal 
Trade Commission/Office of the Secretary, Room H-159 (Annex E), 600 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20580.
    The FTC Act and other laws the Commission administers permit the 
collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding as 
appropriate. All timely and responsive public comments, whether filed 
in paper or electronic form, will be considered by the Commission, and 
will be available to the public on the FTC Web site, to the extent 
practicable, at http://www.ftc.gov. As a matter of discretion, the FTC 
makes every effort to remove home contact information for individuals 
from the public comments it receives before placing those comments on 
the FTC Web site. More information, including routine uses permitted by 
the Privacy Act, may be found in the FTC's privacy policy, at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marian R. Bruno, Assistant Director, 
Karen E. Berg, Attorney, B. Michael Verne, Compliance Specialist, or 
Nancy M. Ovuka, Compliance Specialist, Premerger Notification Office, 
Bureau of Competition, Room 303, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, 
DC 20580. Telephone: (202) 326-3100.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 7A of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. 
18a, as added by the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 
1976, Public Law 94-435, 90 Stat. 1390 (``the Act''), requires all 
persons contemplating certain mergers or acquisitions to file 
notification with the Commission and the Assistant Attorney General and 
to wait a designated period of time before consummating such 
transactions. Congress empowered the Commission, with the concurrence 
of the Assistant Attorney General, to require ``that the notification * 
* * be in such form and contain such documentary material and 
information * * * as is necessary and appropriate'' to enable the 
agencies ``to determine whether such acquisitions may, if consummated, 
violate the antitrust laws.'' Congress similarly granted rulemaking 
authority to, inter alia, ``prescribe such other rules as may be 
necessary and appropriate to carry out the purposes of this section.'' 
15 U.S.C. 18a(d).
    Pursuant to that section, the Commission, with the concurrence of 
the Assistant Attorney General, developed the Antitrust Improvements 
Act Rules (``the HSR rules'') and Notification and Report Form for 
Certain Mergers and Acquisitions (``the Form''), and has amended or 
revised the HSR rules and the Form on numerous occasions, and now 
proposes these further changes to the HSR rules.
    The Commission invites interested members of the public to submit 
written data, views, facts, and arguments addressing the issues raised 
by this NPR. Written comments must be submitted on or before June 4, 
2004. Comments should refer to ``HSR Proposed Rulemaking, Project No. 
P989316,'' to facilitate the organization of comments. A comment filed 
in paper form should include this reference both in the text and on the 
envelope, and should be mailed or delivered to the following address: 
Federal Trade Commission/Office of the Secretary, Room H-159 (Annex E), 
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20580. If the comment 
contains any material for which confidential treatment is requested, it 
must be filed in paper (rather than electronic) form, and the first 
page of the document must be clearly labeled ``Confidential.'' \1\ The 
FTC is requesting

[[Page 18687]]

that any comment filed in paper form be sent by courier or overnight 
service, if possible, because U.S. postal mail in the Washington area 
and at the Commission is subject to delay due to heightened security 
precautions.
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    \1\ Commission Rule 4.2(d), 16 CFR 4.2(d). The comment must be 
accompanied by an explicit request for confidential treatment, 
including the factual and legal basis for the request, and must 
identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from 
the public record. The request will be granted or denied by the 
Commission's General Counsel, consistent with applicable law and the 
public interest. See Commission Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
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    Comments on any proposed filing, recordkeeping, or disclosure 
requirements that are subject to paperwork burden review under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act should additionally be submitted to: Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 
New Executive Office Building, Room 10102, Washington, DC 20503, 
Attention: Carolyn Lovett, Desk Officer for Federal Trade Commission. 
Such comments should also be mailed to the following address: Federal 
Trade Commission/Office of the Secretary, Room H-159 (Annex E), 600 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20580.
    An electronic comment can be filed by (1) clicking on http://www.regulations.gov; (2) selecting ``Federal Trade Commission'' at 
``Search for Open Regulations;'' (3) locating the summary of this 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking; (4) clicking on ``Submit a Comment on 
this Regulation;'' and (5) completing the form. For a given electronic 
comment, any information placed in the following fields--``Title,'' 
``First Name,'' ``Last Name,'' ``Organization Name,'' ``State,'' 
``Comment,'' and ``Attachment''--will be publicly available on the FTC 
Web site. The fields marked with an asterisk on the form are required 
in order for the FTC to fully consider a particular comment. Commenters 
may choose not to fill in one or more of these fields, but if they do 
so, their comments may not be considered.
    The FTC Act and other laws the Commission administers permit the 
collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding as 
appropriate. All timely and responsive public comments, whether filed 
in paper or electronic form, will be considered by the Commission, and 
will be available to the public on the FTC Web site, to the extent 
practicable, at http://www.ftc.gov. As a matter of discretion, the FTC 
makes every effort to remove home contact information for individuals 
from the public comments it receives before placing those comments on 
the FTC Web site. More information, including routine uses permitted by 
the Privacy Act, may be found in the FTC's privacy policy, at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.

Background

    The Act applies to acquisitions of voting securities or assets. 
Whether a transaction must be reported is determined by applying the 
statute, supporting regulations, and formal and informal staff 
interpretations. Neither the Act nor the HSR rules specifically address 
whether interests in unincorporated entities are deemed to be voting 
securities or assets. The Premerger Notification Office, by informal 
interpretation, has long taken the position that partnership interests, 
and, by extension, interests in other types of unincorporated entities, 
are neither assets nor voting securities. Thus, any acquisition of such 
interests has not been deemed a reportable event unless 100 percent of 
the interests are acquired, in which case the acquisition is deemed to 
be that of all of the underlying assets of the partnership or other 
unincorporated entity.
    When promulgating the original HSR rules, the Commission recognized 
the possible applicability of the Act to acquisitions of less than 100 
percent of the interests in such entities. Although the Commission did 
not extend the coverage of Sec.  801.40 regarding formations of 
corporations to unincorporated entities, the Statement of Basis and 
Purpose to Section 801.40 reads:

    ``There is evidence that Congress intended coverage of 
acquisitions by or of noncorporate entities. Section 7A(b)(3)(A) 
states:
    The term ``voting securities'' means any securities which * * * 
entitle the owner or holders thereof to vote for the election of 
directors of the issuer, or, with respect to unincorporated issuers, 
persons exercising similar functions. (Emphasis supplied).
    However, the Commission has instructed its staff to monitor the 
formation of joint business arrangements of all types and forms and 
to determine, after a year of operation, whether the rules provide 
appropriate coverage. The fact that persons contributing to the 
formation of a noncorporate joint venture are not required to report 
and wait prior to the transaction should not, of course, be 
construed as a Commission statement that such transactions are free 
from antitrust concerns.'' \2\
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    \2\ 43 FR 33487 (July 31, 1978).
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    At the end of the one year period, further modifications to the 
rules were not made.
    The language of the Act cited above suggests that unincorporated 
entities can have voting securities. Voting securities, under the Act, 
must entitle the holder to vote either for the election of directors or 
to vote for the election of individuals exercising similar functions 
with respect to unincorporated entities.\3\ The Commission did not 
apply this approach to unincorporated entities in 1978 and does not 
propose to do so in these proposed amendments. In the 1987 rulemaking 
that redefined control of partnerships, which is discussed in more 
detail below, the Commission stated:

    \3\ Section 7A(b)(3)(A).
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    ``* * * [t]he Commission staff concluded that partnerships do 
not possess `individuals exercising similar functions' to directors; 
* * *'' \4\

    \4\ 52 FR 20062 (May 29, 1987).
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    Because the Commission concluded that partnerships do not have 
directors or individuals exercising similar functions, partnerships 
cannot have voting securities as defined in the Act.
    In 1987, the Commission revised a longstanding staff position that 
a partnership was never controlled by its partners and thus was always 
its own ultimate parent entity. The rules were amended to incorporate 
the current control tests for partnerships.\5\ In the Statement of 
Basis and Purpose accompanying that rulemaking, the Commission 
addressed the possibility of making the acquisition of control of a 
partnership a reportable event.

    \5\ 16 CFR 801.1(b)(1)(ii) (``In the case of an entity that has 
no outstanding voting securities, having the right to 50 percent or 
more of the profits of the entity, or having the right in the event 
of dissolution to 50 percent or more of the assets of the entity * * 
*'').
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    ``* * * the Commission is considering whether, in light of its 
adoption of the `partnership control' rule, it should also revise 
its rules to require reporting the acquisition of control of a 
partnership. Currently, the staff interpretation makes acquisition 
of less than a 100 percent interest in a partnership not reportable, 
because a partnership interest is deemed to be neither a voting 
security nor an asset.''\6\

    \6\ 52 FR 20061 (May 29, 1987).
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    The Commission also raised the possibility of applying the 
intraperson exemption to partnerships should the acquisition of control 
be made a reportable event. Responding to a comment from the ABA 
Section of Antitrust Law asking whether an acquisition of assets from a 
partnership by a person who controlled that partnership would be an 
exempt transaction, the Commission replied:

    ``As a general matter, the Commission agrees it would be logical 
to exempt such transactions if acquisition of control of the 
partnership were a reportable event. However, as is noted above, 
under current staff interpretations, acquisition of control is

[[Page 18688]]

not normally a reportable event. Consequently, the Commission is not 
prepared now to exempt the asset acquisition. It will consider such 
an exemption as it considers making the acquisition of control of a 
partnership a reportable event.''\7\

    \7\ Ibid.
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    In developing these proposed rule amendments, the Commission 
considered changing the control test for unincorporated entities from 
an equity test (having the right to 50 percent or more of the profits 
of the entity, or having the right in the event of dissolution to 50 
percent or more of the assets of the entity) \8\ to a governance test 
(the general partner(s) of a partnership, the person(s) who designate 
the general partner, the managing member(s) of a limited liability 
company (``LLC''), or the person(s) who designate the management 
committee of an LLC, etc.). Such a change would conform the control 
test for unincorporated entities more closely to the control test for 
corporations (either holding 50 percent more of the outstanding voting 
securities of the issuer or having the contractual power presently to 
designate 50 percent or more of the directors of a corporation) \9\. 
However, the application of a governance test of control to an 
unincorporated entity would be difficult to apply consistently. The 
Commission has decided that changing the control rule in such a manner 
would create confusion and make the control test more ambiguous than 
the current rule. Therefore, these proposed amendments do not include 
such a change to the control test, and the current rule will remain 
unchanged with one exception. The proposed amendment to Sec.  
801.1(b)(2) would remove the alternate test of control for 
unincorporated entities which provides for control through having the 
contractual power presently to designate individuals exercising similar 
functions to those of directors of a corporation. This is discussed 
further in the narrative accompanying the proposed amendments to Sec.  
801.1.
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    \8\ 16 CFR 801.1(b)(1)(ii).
    \9\ 16 CFR 801.1(b).
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    Finally, in February, 1999 the Commission issued Formal 
Interpretation 15, which defined circumstances under which the 
formation of LLCs would be reportable. At that time, the Commission 
recognized that the use of LLCs had evolved, and while LLCs were still 
used to some extent as vehicles for start-up enterprises, they were 
also often being used to combine competing businesses under common 
control. To address the combination of businesses, Formal 
Interpretation 15 construed the Act and rules to require reporting when 
two or more ongoing businesses were combined under common control. 
Formal Interpretation 15 covers only LLCs, leaving other non-corporate 
ventures unaddressed, and has been complicated to apply.
    In its commentary in Formal Interpretation 15, the Commission again 
indicated the possibility of making formations of partnerships 
reportable under the same reasoning that it used for LLCs.

    ``Some of the reasons for concluding that the formation of 
certain LLCs should be treated as reportable may apply equally well 
to partnerships * * *. [t]he [PreMerger Notification Office] has 
decided not to change its treatment of partnerships at this time, 
but may re-visit this issue in the future as developments require.'' 
\10\
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    \10\ 64 FR 5808 (February 5, 1999).

    The use of unincorporated entities is expanding, and such entities 
are increasingly engaging in acquiring interests in other corporate and 
unincorporated entities. For example, the number of corporate income 
tax filings increased from 4,630,000 to 5,711,000 (23%) between 1994 
and 2002, while the number of partnership returns \11\, including LLCs 
taxed as partnerships, increased from 1,550,000 to 2,236,000 (44%) 
during the same period.\12\ In addition, a number of states have 
amended their statutes in recent years to allow limited liability 
companies to merge with other types of legal entities.
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    \11\ Partnership return of income forms (Form 1065) are not 
strictly income tax returns because partnerships are not taxed 
directly.
    \12\ Internal Revenue Service, FY 1994 and FY 2002 Data Books, 
Summary of Number of Returns by Type of Return.
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    Delaware has traditionally led the nation in incorporations and has 
now achieved the same position with unincorporated entities. According 
to the Delaware Secretary of State, 1,499 statutory trusts, 5,717 
limited partnerships (``LPs'') and more than 47,000 LLCs were formed in 
2002.\13\
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    \13\ BNA's Corporate Counsel Weekly Newsletter Analysis, 
``Delaware Law: 2003 Amendments to Delaware's Alternative Entity 
Statutes'', Turthill and Hering (October 8, 2003).
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    Professor Susan Pace Hamill comments in the Michigan Law Review 
``[r]egardless of whether the motivation is tax or business related, 
the use and acceptance of LLCs as a serious alternative to the 
partnership and the corporation [has] exponentially increased * * * and 
will probably grow more each year. Indeed, some commentators believe 
the LLC will largely replace the partnership and the closely held 
corporation and emerge as the dominant form of business for non-
publicly traded entities.'' She further observes that ``[c]ommentators 
are just starting to speculate on the future popularity of the LLP 
(limited liability partnership). Some believe that LLPs will evolve as 
the business form of choice for many transactions and may even surpass 
the LLC.''\14\
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    \14\ Hamill, The Limited Liability Company: A Catalyst Exposing 
the Corporate Integration Question, 95 Mich. L. Rev. 393 (November, 
1996).
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    Consequently, as a result of the increased usage of non-corporate 
entities in transaction structures, the Commission believes that this 
is the appropriate time to review its application of the Act and the 
HSR rules to non-corporate entities and to propose amendments that will 
revise the Commission's historic treatment of these entities.

Current Interpretations

    Staff informal interpretations of the current rules with respect to 
unincorporated entities lead to several anomalies which do not occur 
with corporations. These inconsistencies relate primarily to three 
areas: changes of control, intraperson transfers of assets, and 
formations.

(a) Changes of Control

    Section 801.2(a) states ``[a]ny person which, as a result of an 
acquisition, will hold voting securities or assets * * * is an 
acquiring person.'' Section 801.1(c)(8) further states ``* * * in 
addition to its own holding, an entity holds all assets and voting 
securities held by the entities which it controls * * *''. Despite this 
language, under current application of the rules, if a minority 
interest holder or a person who holds no interests at all acquires a 
controlling, but less than 100 percent interest in an existing 
unincorporated entity, the transaction is never reportable because the 
person who will control the unincorporated entity is not deemed to be 
acquiring the assets of the entity and no reportable acquisition 
occurs. However, under the rules, the person is immediately deemed to 
hold those same assets for purposes of determining the size-of-person 
test by virtue of having the right to 50% of the profits and assets 
upon dissolution of the entity. Further, if the person who now controls 
the unincorporated entity, who is deemed to hold all of the assets of 
the entity under Sec.  801.1(c)(8), were to acquire the remaining 
interests, it would be required to file notification to acquire the 
same assets it is deemed to currently

[[Page 18689]]

hold, assuming the jurisdictional thresholds are met. The intraperson 
exemption provided in Sec.  802.30 prevents this result in the context 
of a corporation but is not available to unincorporated entities 
because the exemption requires that the acquiring and acquired person 
be the same by reason of holdings of voting securities.
    Under this approach, if a person who currently holds no interests 
or a minority position in a non-corporate entity acquires 100 percent 
of the interests, the person is required to file, but if the person 
acquires 99 percent it does not. A person who controls a non-corporate 
entity and acquires the remainder of the interests must also file. Both 
situations are anomalous: a filing is required after control is 
obtained, yet no filing is required to gain control.
    Consistent with the treatment of corporate entities, meaningful 
antitrust review should occur at the time that control of an 
unincorporated entity changes and not after control is already 
acquired. Currently, if a person who controls a partnership or other 
unincorporated entity is acquiring the remaining interests, that 
interest holder is deemed both the acquiring and acquired person and 
files notification to acquire the assets which, according to a literal 
reading of the rules, it already holds.\15\ For example, a 90 percent 
partner acquiring the remaining 10 percent of the interest in a 
partnership must file. An HSR filing for this type of transaction 
appears to be of little antitrust significance. The Commission receives 
a significant number of such filings each year and believes that other 
such transactions are not reported as required due to the 
counterintuitive nature of the current application of the rules.\16\
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    \15\ 16 CFR 801.1(c)(8) (A person holds all assets and voting 
securities held by the entities included within it; in addition to 
its own holding, an entity holds all assets and voting securities 
held by the entities which it controls directly or indirectly). 
(emphasis supplied).
    \16\ Between 1997 and 2002, the Commission received 248 filings 
in which the acquiring person and the acquired person were the same.
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(b) Intraperson Transfers

    In the context of corporations, any transfer of assets from a 
corporation to a controlling shareholder, or a transfer of assets from 
one corporate subsidiary of a parent to another corporate subsidiary of 
the same parent is exempt.\17\ However, because partnerships and other 
unincorporated entities are not controlled through the holding of 
voting securities, similar transfers involving such entities are 
reportable. This results, for example, in a reportable transaction when 
assets are transferred from a partnership to a partner that holds a 90 
percent interest in the partnership, irrespective of the fact that the 
controlling partner is already deemed to hold those assets. Similarly, 
if a person controls two different partnerships and transfers assets 
from one to the other, that person would have a filing requirement 
despite the fact that it holds the assets under the rules both before 
and after the transfer. This result conflicts with the definition in 
Sec.  801.2 which defines an acquiring person as ``Any person which, as 
a result of an acquisition will hold voting securities or assets * * 
*'' (emphasis supplied).
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    \17\ ``An acquisition (other than the formation of a joint 
venture or other corporation the voting securities of which will be 
held by two or more persons) in which, by reason of holdings of 
voting securities, the acquiring and acquired persons are (or as a 
result of formation of a wholly owned entity will be) the same 
person, shall be exempt from the requirements of the Act.'' 16 CFR 
802.30.
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(c) Formations

    With the exception of certain limited liability company formations, 
as noted above,\18\ formations of non-corporate entities are not 
reportable events. This leads to a number of transactions where de 
facto change of control of assets can occur without notification. For 
example, A and B form a non-corporate entity to which B will contribute 
a business in exchange for a 40 percent interest and A will contribute 
cash in exchange for a 60 percent interest. Although A now holds assets 
which were previously held by B, current application of the rules does 
not require notification because A will not hold 100 percent of the 
interests in the non-corporate entity nor are two pre-existing 
businesses being combined in an LLC. This would not be reportable in an 
LLC or partnership formation but would be reportable in the formation 
of a corporation. While Formal Interpretation 15 was an attempt to 
address this inconsistency in the context of limited liability company 
formations, its application still results in non-reportable 
transactions which could have significant antitrust implications.
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    \18\ Formal Interpretation (64 FR 5808 (February 5, 1999)) 
treats as reportable the formation of an LLC if (1) two or more pre-
existing, separately controlled businesses will be contributed, and 
(2) at least one of the members will control the LLC. The formation 
of all other LLCs is treated similar to the formation of a 
partnership which is not reportable.
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Proposed Amendments

    These proposed rules attempt to apply the Act as consistently as 
possible to all forms of legal entities, requiring filings for 
transactions which are likely to present antitrust concerns and 
exempting transactions which are not. The Commission particularly seeks 
information on the number and types of transactions that would become 
reportable and whether changes in the proposal, including additional 
exemptions, could limit any undesirable effects.
    Proposed changes to the coverage rules include a revision to Sec.  
801.1(b) to remove the alternate control test for unincorporated 
entities; an amendment to Sec.  801.1(f) to define a ``non-corporate 
interest''; revising Sec.  801.2(d) to clarify the consolidation rule; 
amending Sec.  801.2(f) to define when acquiring interests in 
unincorporated entities may constitute an acquisition; adding a new 
subsection to Sec.  801.10 to define how to value such an acquisition; 
adding a new subsection to Sec.  801.13 to address aggregation of non-
corporate interests; and adding a new Sec.  801.50 which makes certain 
formations of unincorporated entities a reportable event. There are 
also ministerial changes to Sec. Sec.  801.4, 802.40 and 802.41 to 
adapt their application to both corporations and unincorporated 
entities. Additionally, there are minor changes to the Notification and 
Report Form to require that Item 5(d) be completed in connection with 
the formation of an unincorporated entity and to reflect the 
applicability of Items 7 and 8 to unincorporated entities and to change 
the reporting requirement in Item 7 with regard to the formation of new 
entities.
    Proposed changes to the exemption rules include modifying Sec.  
802.4 to eliminate the dissimilar treatment of asset and voting 
securities acquisitions which are substantively the same; codifying in 
Sec.  802.10 a longstanding informal interpretation that pro-rata 
reformations (i.e. reincorporation in a new jurisdiction) are exempt 
transactions; changing Sec.  802.30 to apply the intraperson exemption 
to entities which are held other than through holdings of voting 
securities; and adding a new Sec.  802.65 to exempt acquisitions of 
non-corporate interests in entities which are formed in connection with 
financing transactions.
    If the Commission adopts the proposed rules, it will revoke Formal 
Interpretation 15 and issue a new Formal Interpretation 18 because LLCs 
will then be treated like any other unincorporated entity under the 
rules.\19\
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    \19\ Text of proposed Formal Interpretation 18:
    1. This formal interpretation of the Premerger Notification 
Rules concerning limited liability companies is issued by the 
Federal Trade Commission pursuant to 16 CFR 803.30. It supersedes a 
formal interpretation issued by the staff of the Federal Trade 
Commission on February 5, 1999.
    2. The formal interpretation issued on February 5, 1999, will no 
longer be used to analyze the reportability of transactions 
involving limited liability companies. Such transactions will now be 
analyzed under parts 801-803 of the Premerger Notification Rules in 
the same manner as any other non-corporate entities.

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[[Page 18690]]

    In addition to amendments concerning unincorporated entities, there 
are technical corrections to Sec. Sec.  801.13, 801.15 and 802.2.

Part 801--Coverage Rules

Section 801.1 Definitions

    The proposed amendment to Sec.  801.1(b)(2) would remove the 
alternate test of control for unincorporated entities, which provides 
for control through having the contractual power presently to designate 
individuals exercising similar functions to those of directors of a 
corporation. This deletion simplifies the test of control for 
unincorporated entities, which is defined as having the right to 50 
percent or more of the profits of the entity, or having the right in 
the event of dissolution to 50 percent or more of the assets of the 
entity. The elimination of the alternate control test insures that an 
acquisition involving an unincorporated entity is reportable only when 
control is acquired through an acquisition of non-corporate interests 
which confer the right to profits or assets upon dissolution of the 
entity, not when obtaining the right to designate individuals 
exercising functions similar to those of directors of a corporation, 
such as the management committee of an LLC. The proposed amendment also 
clarifies that the only test for control of a not-for-profit 
corporation which does not issue voting securities is the right to 
designate 50 percent or more of the board of directors.
    Proposed new Sec.  801.1(f)(1)(ii) would define the term ``non-
corporate interest'' as an interest in any unincorporated entity which 
gives the holder the right to any profits of the entity or the right to 
any assets of the entity in the event of dissolution of that entity. 
This term is used throughout the proposed rule changes.

Section 801.2 Acquiring and Acquired Persons

    The proposed amendment to Sec.  801.2(d) would codify a 
longstanding informal staff position that the combination of any two 
entities into a new holding company is the functional equivalent of a 
consolidation and should be treated in the same manner regardless of 
whether the entities are corporations or non-corporate entities. It 
also clarifies that even if the two entities are retaining their 
separate legal identities, either by becoming subsidiaries of the new 
holding company or through arrangements such as dual-listing 
agreements, the transactions would be treated the same.
    Proposed new Sec.  801.2(f)(1) provides that an acquisition occurs 
at the time non-corporate interests which confer control of an 
unincorporated entity are acquired. At this point the person who 
controls the entity is deemed to hold all of the assets of the entity. 
Thus the proposed rules would shift reporting from when 100% of the 
interest in an unincorporated entity is received to the more 
significant point when control is obtained.\20\ This change would be 
consistent with Section 801.2(a) which defines an acquiring person as 
``[a]ny person which, as a result of an acquisition, will hold voting 
securities or assets, either directly or indirectly * * * is an 
acquiring person.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \20\ See Sec.  801.1(c)(8), which provides that a ``person holds 
all assets and voting securities held by the entities included 
within it; in addition to its own holdings, an entity holds all 
assets and voting securities held by the entities which it controls 
directly or indirectly.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Proposed new Sec.  801.2(f)(2) would clarify that a contribution of 
assets or voting securities to an existing unincorporated entity is an 
acquisition by that entity and that such a transaction would not be 
governed by new Sec.  801.50, even if all or part of the consideration 
is interests in the entity. This differs from Formal Interpretation 15 
which views the contribution of a business to an existing LLC in 
exchange for membership interests as a new formation of that LLC. Note 
that when a person acquires control of an existing non-corporate entity 
as a result of a contribution made to that non-corporate entity, the 
acquisition by the non-corporate entity from the contributing person is 
not separately reportable. If the rule is amended as proposed, Formal 
Interpretation 15 will be repealed.
    Proposed Sec.  801.2(f)(3) would also codify a longstanding 
informal position that acquiring the right to designate 50 percent or 
more of the board of directors of a not-for-profit corporation is an 
acquisition of all of the underlying assets of such an entity. This is 
generally accomplished by becoming a member with the right to designate 
50 percent or more of the board of directors.

Section 801.4 Secondary Acquisitions

    The proposed amendment to Sec.  801.4 would clarify that any 
indirect acquisition of voting securities of an issuer that is not 
controlled by the acquired entity in the primary acquisition is deemed 
a secondary acquisition and is separately subject to the reporting 
requirements of the Act. This is true whether the primary acquisition 
confers control of a corporation or an unincorporated entity. Again, 
the Commission intends to elevate substance over form in the 
application of this rule to different types of legal entities. A 
separately reportable acquisition of an unincorporated entity may also 
occur through an indirect acquisition of minority non-corporate 
interests if the acquiring person already holds non-corporate interests 
in that entity that in aggregate would result in control.

Section 801.10 Value of Voting Securities, Assets and Non-Corporate 
Interests To Be Acquired

    Proposed Sec.  801.10(d) would specify the method of valuing a 
transaction in which non-corporate interests which confer control of an 
existing unincorporated entity are acquired. Under the proposed rules, 
an acquisition of non-corporate interests is potentially reportable 
where a change of control results in the acquiring person being deemed 
to hold all of the assets of the unincorporated entity. That said, it 
appears inequitable to require the acquiring person in such a 
transaction to value all of the underlying assets of the unincorporated 
entity if less than 100 percent of the interests are being acquired. 
Under the current rules, in an acquisition of voting securities of a 
non-publicly traded corporation, where a person acquires 50 percent or 
more of the corporation's voting securities, that person is deemed to 
hold all of the assets of the corporation. However, the value of the 
transaction is the value of the percentage interest held in the 
corporation, not the value of 100 percent of the underlying assets. The 
Commission believes that it is appropriate to similarly value an 
acquisition of non-corporate interests. Rather than treating such a 
transaction as a stand-alone acquisition of assets, which would be 
valued in accordance with Sec.  801.10(b), the new rule establishes the 
value of the transaction by using the same methodology employed in 
valuing voting securities of a non-publicly traded corporation. 
Therefore, the value of any non-corporate interests which are being 
acquired is the acquisition price if determined or if undetermined, the 
fair market value of those interests. The value of any non-corporate 
interests in the same unincorporated entity which are already held 
prior to the instant

[[Page 18691]]

acquisition is the fair market value of those interests.

Section 801.13 Aggregation of Voting Securities, Assets and Non-
Corporate Interests

    The proposed amendment to Sec.  801.13(b) would correct a drafting 
oversight that has existed since the original rulemaking in 1978.\21\ 
Because this section only requires aggregation of a current acquisition 
of assets with an earlier acquisition of assets from the same acquired 
person if the earlier transaction has been consummated, incongruous 
unintended results are produced in many instances.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \21\ 43 FR 33487 (July 31, 1978).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Under the current rule, the value of a past and current asset 
acquisition must be aggregated if the acquiring person has signed a 
letter of intent or entered into a contract or agreement in principle 
to acquire assets from the acquired person, and if the acquiring person 
has acquired assets from the acquired person within 180 calendar days 
preceding the signing of such agreement. This requirement applies if 
the prior acquisition was not previously subject to the requirements of 
the Act.
    A problem arises when the acquiring person has not consummated the 
prior acquisition of assets at the time the subsequent acquisition 
letter of intent or agreement has been entered into. In that situation, 
aggregation is not required yet the combination of assets may exceed 
the reporting thresholds. As a result, an earlier planned non-
reportable acquisition which is the subject of a letter of intent or 
agreement that is still valid, but has not closed would not be 
aggregated with assets to be acquired from the same acquired person 
pursuant to a new letter of intent or agreement executed within 180 
days of the original transaction. For example, if A enters into an 
agreement with B to acquire $30 million in assets on day one, and 
enters into a second agreement with B to acquire $30 million in 
additional assets on day 60, aggregation of the two sets of assets 
would not be required if the first acquisition has not closed, but 
would be required if it has closed.
    To correct this anomaly, amended Sec.  801.13(b) would require 
aggregation if within the 180 days preceding the execution of a letter 
of intent or agreement, either (1) a still valid letter of intent or 
agreement which has not been consummated was entered into with the same 
acquired person; or (2) assets were acquired from the same acquired 
person and are still held by the acquiring person. No aggregation is 
required if the earlier contemplated or consummated acquisition was 
subject to the requirements of the Act. The reference to Sec.  
801.1(h)(1) would also be removed because that part of the rule is no 
longer applicable to asset acquisitions.
    Proposed new Sec.  801.13(c) would require that any new acquisition 
of non-corporate interests be aggregated with any previously acquired 
non-corporate interests in the same unincorporated entity for purposes 
of determining the value of the transaction in accordance with new 
Sec.  801.10(d). An acquisition of non-corporate interests that does 
not confer control of the unincorporated entity is not aggregated with 
any other assets or voting securities which have been or are currently 
being acquired from the same acquired person.

Section 801.15 Aggregation of Voting Securities and Assets the 
Acquisition of Which Was Exempt

    The proposed amendment to Sec.  801.15 would correct a drafting 
oversight in the rulemaking promulgated in March, 2002 \22\, which, 
among other things, reorganized the foreign exemptions found in Sec.  
Sec.  802.50 and 802.51. The foreign exemptions were originally 
organized by nationality of the acquiring person such that Sec.  802.50 
covered acquisitions of both assets located outside of the U.S. and 
voting securities of foreign issuers by U.S. persons. Section 802.51 
likewise covered both types of acquisitions by foreign persons. The 
2002 rulemaking reorganized the two rules by type of transaction. 
Section 802.50 now covers acquisitions of assets located outside of the 
U.S. by any person and Sec.  802.51 covers acquisitions of voting 
securities of foreign issuers by any person.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \22\ 67 FR 11898 (March 18, 2002).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Both rules proscribe the use of the exemption if the foreign assets 
or foreign issuer generated sales in or into the U.S. in excess of $50 
million in the most recent year or if the foreign issuer has assets 
located in the U.S. valued in excess of $50 million. Section 801.15(b) 
states that any assets or voting securities exempted under Sec.  802.50 
or Sec.  802.51 are not held as a result of an acquisition unless the 
$50 million limitation in the relevant section is exceeded.
    The original rules each referenced both assets and voting 
securities and thus covered aggregation of the U.S. sales attributable 
to foreign assets and voting securities that are acquired from the same 
acquired person in the same transaction. However, the rules as amended 
present a problem when applied without change to Sec.  801.15. Because 
Sec.  801.15(b) is applied separately to each exemption to determine 
whether the limitation in that exemption has been exceeded, under the 
current aggregation rule, Sec. Sec.  802.50 and 802.51 are each 
analyzed separately to determine if the limitation in each has been 
exceeded independent of the other. This produced the unintended result 
that an acquisition can be made of voting securities of foreign issuers 
and assets located outside of the U.S. from the same acquired person, 
which in aggregate have sales in or into the U.S. in excess of $50 
million, which will not be reportable if both the assets and the 
issuers do not individually exceed the limitation. For example, an 
acquisition of assets located outside of the U.S. with $30 million in 
sales into the U.S. coupled with an acquisition of voting securities of 
a subsidiary of the same acquired person with $30 million of sales into 
the U.S. would not currently be reportable. This is obviously not the 
intended result because the requisite nexus with U.S. commerce has been 
satisfied.
    To correct this earlier drafting omission, the proposed amendment 
to Sec.  801.15 would remove Sec. Sec.  802.50 and 802.51 from 
paragraph (b) and move them to new paragraph (d) which requires that 
sales in or into the U.S. be aggregated under both foreign exemptions 
to determine if the $50 million limitation is exceeded. This proposed 
revision would insure consistent application of the foreign exemptions 
to transactions which are substantively the same but different in form.

Section 801.50 Formation of Unincorporated Entities

    Because the formation of an entity presents the same potential 
antitrust concerns regardless of whether its legal form is that of a 
corporation or a non-corporate entity, the Commission believes that all 
such formations should be treated as similarly as possible under the 
rules. Thus, proposed new Sec.  801.50 would mirror Sec.  801.40, which 
governs the formation of corporations, with two exceptions. Most 
importantly, like any potentially reportable acquisition of an existing 
unincorporated entity, acquisitions of non-corporate interests which 
confer control must be reported. Because acquiring control is the 
triggering event in such a formation, the special size of person test 
in Sec.  801.40 that requires that two acquiring persons and the newly 
formed corporation have sufficient size to satisfy the jurisdictional 
requirements, appears to be unnecessary. It might be inconsistent with 
the structure of the proposed rule, because there may well be only one

[[Page 18692]]

acquiring person (i.e., only one person who will control the entity) in 
a formation of an unincorporated entity even though there are other 
minority interest holders. Therefore, this test is omitted in proposed 
new Sec.  801.50 and the standard size of person test specified in 
section 7A(a)(2) of the Act is used.
    Outside parties have raised questions concerning the determination 
of the right of profits or assets upon dissolution in a new 
unincorporated entity that has a formulaic distribution of profits 
based upon variables that cannot be determined at the time of the 
formation of the entity. If a formation agreement designates a fixed 
percentage of profits and assets upon dissolution for each person 
contributing to the formation of the entity, the analysis is 
straightforward. If however, the profit distribution depends on the 
level of profit, for instance, the analysis is more complex.
    Thus far, staff in the Premerger Notification Office has learned of 
two profit sharing arrangements that raise complications when the 
control test is applied. In the first instance, the profit distribution 
is based on the level of cumulative profits. For example, the first $10 
million in profits is distributed 80% to A and 20% to B. The second $10 
million is distributed 50% to each. Any profits above $20 million are 
distributed 20% to A and 80% to B. Thus, the eventual distribution of 
profit cannot be determined in advance. At different points the right 
to 50% or more of the profits shifts from A to B and at one point they 
each have that right. Given the uncertainty that any of the profit 
targets will be achieved, the analysis of rights to profits becomes 
extremely difficult. Does A control because it has the right to more 
than 50% in the first 10 million, does B control because it has the 
same right to profits above $20 million, or do both control because 
they each have the right to 50% or more at different times? Does only A 
control because the only certainty is that the entity will have less 
than $10 million in profits, if indeed it ever generates any profits, 
at some point in its life cycle? Or does neither control?
    A second arrangement is even more problematic. In this scenario, 
the percentage of profits distributed to each of the persons 
contributing to the formation is recalculated based on the level of 
profits achieved since the last distribution. Thus, each time there is 
a new distribution, a different person may have the right to more than 
50% of that distribution.
    To address these problems, the Commission proposes that any profit 
distribution arrangement that cannot be determined at the time of the 
formation of the entity will result in the right to profits of the 
entity being deemed undetermined. The control test in such a scenario 
will be the right to residual assets of the entity. Under the formation 
agreement, if any person contributing to the formation receives the 
right to 50% or more of the assets of the entity once all its debt has 
been repaid, then that person is deemed to have acquired control of the 
entity at the time of its formation. If no such right is conferred, the 
entity is deemed to be its own ultimate parent entity and its formation 
will not be reportable.
    Proposed Sec.  801.50 is intended to cover only the formation of 
unincorporated entities, not other contractual arrangements that may 
confer rights to profits of a joint enterprise that does not involve 
the formation of an entity, nor any existing contractual arrangement 
deemed by a court to be a partnership under rule of law.

PART 802--EXEMPTION RULES

Section 802.2 Certain Acquisitions of Real Property Assets

    Section 802.2 of the rules was promulgated in 1996 to exempt eight 
categories of real property acquisitions, including office and 
residential property, unproductive real property, hotels and motels, 
and agricultural property, that the agencies concluded were unlikely to 
violate the antitrust laws.\23\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \23\ 61 FR 13666 (March 28, 1996).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Section 802.2(g) of the 1996 version of the rule exempted 
acquisitions of agricultural property and stated:

    ``Agricultural property is real property and assets that 
primarily generate revenues from the production of crops, fruits, 
vegetables, livestock, poultry, milk, and eggs (activities within 
SIC \24\ Major Groups 01 and 02).''

    \24\ Standard Industrial Classification.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    SIC major groups 01 and 02 did not include timber tracts (08) or 
logging (24).
    At the time Sec.  802.2 was originally adopted, the agencies 
explained that three comments had proposed ``an exemption for 
acquisitions of timberland, noting that the raw material supply and 
manufacturing resources in the forestry industry are abundant, and 
ownership of timberland is fragmented.'' The agencies expressly 
rejected creating such an exemption:

    ``However, because there has been enforcement interest in a 
number of transactions involving timberland in the western United 
States, the Commission declined to include an exemption for 
acquisitions of timberland to insure that the enforcement agencies 
continue to receive notification of those acquisitions of timberland 
that may present competitive concerns.'' \25\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \25\ 61 FR 13679 (March 28, 1996).

    In 2001, the FTC amended the HSR Form and Instructions to require 
reporting of revenue data by NAICS \26\ rather than by SIC code.\27\ At 
the same time, the two HSR Rules that had referenced SIC codes were 
amended so as to replace those references with ``the applicable NAICS 
sector.'' Accordingly, the parenthetical in the agricultural property 
exemption was amended to read:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \26\ North American Industry Classification System.
    \27\ 66 FR 23561 (May 9, 2001) (interim rules); 66 FR 35541 
(July 6, 2001) (finalizing interim rules).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    ``(activities within NAICS sector 11).''

    The Statement of Basis and Purpose simply stated: ``This amendment 
is necessary to update the definition to the applicable NAICS sector 
rather than the SIC industry code.'' \28\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \28\ Ibid.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The agencies have since discovered that timberland, which was in 
SIC major group 08 and thus not originally referenced in the 
parenthetical at issue, is in NAICS sector 11, which is captioned 
``Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting.'' Within sector 11 are 
``timber tract operations'', ``forest nurseries and gathering of forest 
products'', and ``logging.'' Thus, the change to NAICS sector 11 
inadvertently expanded the exemption beyond the agricultural property 
originally intended.
    To clarify that timberland acquisitions are not exempted by Sec.  
802.2(g), the proposed amendment to this rule would make two changes. 
First, the parenthetical at issue would be revised to make it clear 
that only real property and assets that primarily generate revenues 
from ``certain'' activities within NAICS sector 11, i.e., activities 
named in the text of the rule (the production of crops, fruits, 
vegetables, livestock, poultry, milk and eggs), are exempted. Second, 
the amendment would add a new subsection under the exceptions to the 
rule providing that timberland or other real property that generate 
revenues from activities within NAICS subsector 113 (Forestry and 
logging) and NAICS industry group 1153 (Support activities for forestry 
and logging) do not qualify for the agricultural property exemption.

[[Page 18693]]

Section 802.4 Acquisitions of Voting Securities of Issuers or Non-
Corporate Interests in Unincorporated Entities Holding Certain Assets 
the Acquisition of Which Is Exempt

    Section 802.4 in its current form was promulgated in connection 
with the 1996 rulemaking that exempted the acquisition of certain real 
property and goods acquired in the ordinary course of business. 
Consequently, its scope is limited to such acquisitions. This 
limitation of the exemption requires filings even for transactions of a 
type that the Commission has now deemed unlikely to create antitrust 
concerns.
    For example, the current rule does not exempt the acquisition of 
voting securities of a U.S. issuer whose only assets are foreign with 
no nexus to the U.S., while the direct acquisition of those foreign 
assets would be exempt under Sec.  802.50. Another example would be the 
acquisition of an issuer whose only assets consisted of cash and cash 
equivalents. While the direct acquisition of the assets would not be 
reportable under Sec.  801.21, the acquisition of the voting securities 
is not exempted by the current version of the rule. It seems unlikely 
that a filing in such acquisitions of voting securities would prove 
useful if the direct acquisition of the same assets of the issuer would 
be exempt.
    The exemption in Sec.  802.4 applies to acquisitions of voting 
securities of issuers that hold certain assets that are exempt from the 
notification requirements if acquired directly. The exemption is only 
available if the acquired issuer or issuers do not in the aggregate 
hold non-exempt assets exceeding the $50 million notification 
threshold. The Commission now believes that this exemption should be 
expanded in two ways. First, consistent with the other proposed 
amendments to the rules, the proposed amendments to this exemption 
would apply to both acquisitions of voting securities and to 
acquisitions of non-corporate interests in an unincorporated entity. 
Second, the proposed exemption would be broadened to include 
acquisitions of voting securities of an issuer or of non-corporate 
interests which confer control of a non-corporate entity whose assets 
are exempt under any section of part 802 of the rules or section 7A(c) 
of the Act or are specified under Sec.  802.21 of the rules. The 
Commission has concluded that if the direct acquisition of an asset is 
already exempt, it appears logical to extend that exemption to an 
acquisition of voting securities of an issuer or of non-corporate 
interests in a unincorporated entity whose only holding is that same 
asset.
    The proposed rule would also codify another informal staff position 
that the value of any minority interests in either corporations or 
unincorporated entities does not count toward the $50 million 
limitation for non-exempt assets. However, the indirect acquisitions of 
such minority interests could be separately reportable as a secondary 
acquisition in the case of voting securities or if the acquiring person 
already has a minority interest in an unincorporated entity that, when 
combined with the interest being indirectly acquired, would result in 
control of that entity. The Commission believes that expanding coverage 
of Sec.  802.4 would ensure that all of the exemptions are applied 
consistently to the substance of a transaction regardless of whether it 
is structured as an asset or a voting securities acquisition.

Section 802.10 Stock Dividends and Splits; Reorganizations

    Proposed new Sec.  802.10(b) would expand the existing exemption to 
codify another longstanding informal position that exempts the 
reincorporation or formation of an upstream holding company by an 
existing corporation, as long as two conditions are met: (1) no new 
assets will be introduced as a result of the conversion, and (2) the 
interests that will be held by an acquiring person in the new entity 
will be pro-rata to or less than the holdings in the original entity or 
the acquiring person was a controlling shareholder or interest holder 
prior to the conversion. The reorganization will be exempt for a person 
that controlled the original entity regardless of its holdings in the 
new entity as long as the first condition is met.

Section 802.30 Intraperson Transactions

    Section 802.30 in its present form exempts acquisitions in which, 
by reason of holdings of voting securities, the acquiring and acquired 
person are the same person. Current Sec.  802.30 produces another 
inconsistent application of an exemption dependent on whether a 
corporation or an unincorporated entity is involved in the transaction. 
Because of the qualifying phrase ``by reason of holdings of voting 
securities'', entities that do not issue voting securities are excluded 
from the exemption. For example, if a corporate subsidiary transfers 
assets to its controlling shareholder, no filing is required. If an 
unincorporated subsidiary made the same transfer to a person who 
controlled it, the exemption would not apply. Similarly, if a parent 
controlled two corporations and transferred assets from one to the 
other, no filing is required. If a parent controlled two partnerships 
and made the same transfer between them, the exemption is inapplicable 
and a filing would be required. These scenarios seem at odds with the 
HSR rules' definition of ``control'' and ``hold'' because the parent 
holds the assets of the controlled entities both before and after each 
transaction.
    Proposed Sec.  802.30(a) would eliminate the requirement that 
control be through the holding of voting securities, and instead 
applies the appropriate control test in Sec.  801.1(b)(1) to any type 
of entity. This proposed section also adds the provision that the 
exemption would apply if ``at least one of the acquired persons'' is 
the same person. This insures that the proposed exemption would be 
available in an acquisition where there are two acquired ultimate 
parent entities as in proposed Example 1. These proposed changes would 
ensure that this prong of the intraperson exemption is applied 
consistently to all types of entities.
    The proposed amendment to Sec.  802.30(b) would restate the 
existing exemption for formation of wholly owned subsidiaries, but 
would change the language slightly to exempt the formation of any type 
of wholly-owned entity.
    Proposed new Sec.  802.30(c) would provide that assets which will 
be contributed to a new entity upon its formation would not be subject 
to the requirements of the Act with respect to the person contributing 
the assets to the formation. This is intended to eliminate a filing 
requirement where the assets contributed to the formation by other 
persons would not on their own be subject to the Act, such as when the 
controlling person contributes assets and the non-controlling person 
contributes only cash. This proposed exemption would be applicable to 
the formations of both unincorporated entities and corporations.

Section 802.40 Exempt Formation of Corporations or Unincorporated 
Entities

    Section 802.40 is intended to exempt the formation of not-for-
profit corporations, but its requirement that the acquisition be of 
voting securities of the not-for-profit is anomalous in that the vast 
majority of not-for-profit corporations do not issue voting securities. 
The proposed amendment to Sec.  802.40 would correct this by removing 
the reference to voting securities, thereby extending the exemption to 
the formation of any not-for-profit entity

[[Page 18694]]

within the meaning of the cited sections of the Internal Revenue Code.

Section 802.41 Corporations or Unincorporated Entities at the Time of 
Formation

    Section 802.41 states that in a formation of a joint venture or 
other corporation under Sec.  801.40, only the acquiring persons need 
file notification and not the new entity being formed. The new 
corporation being formed is not required to file as an acquired person. 
The proposed amendment to Sec.  802.41 would extend the same treatment 
to new unincorporated entities being formed under proposed new Sec.  
801.50.

Section 802.65 Exempt Acquisition in Formation of Unincorporated Entity

    Proposed new Sec.  802.65 would exempt certain acquisitions in 
financing transactions involving the formation of unincorporated 
entities. In some financing transactions, a new unincorporated entity 
is formed into which one party contributes assets and another 
contributes only cash. Initially, the cash investor will have a 
preferred return in order to recover its investment. As a result, that 
person may have the right to 50 percent or more of the profits of the 
entity for some period of time following the formation. Although this 
right to profits constitutes control of the entity under Sec.  
801.1(b), the investor has no operational control of the entity. This 
type of transaction is analogous to a creditor acquiring secured debt 
in the entity, an event which is not subject to the Act. Rather than 
taking back secured debt, however, the investor acquires an equity 
interest in the entity to obtain its return on investment. For these 
reasons, the Commission believes that such a financing arrangement is 
unlikely to raise antitrust concerns.
    The proposed new exemption would be applicable if four conditions 
are met: (1) The acquiring person is contributing only cash to the 
formation of the entity; (2) the formation transaction is in the 
ordinary course of the acquiring person's business; (3) the terms of 
the formation agreement are such that the acquiring person will no 
longer control the entity after it realizes its preferred return; and 
(4) the acquiring person will not be a competitor of the new entity. 
While the investor's acquisition of control of the new entity at its 
formation would be exempt, the investor would be deemed to control the 
new entity for all other purposes following the formation.

Part 803--Transmittal Rules

Appendix: Premerger Notification and Report Form

Item 5(d) Corporations and Unincorporated Entities at the Time of 
Formation
    Current Item 5(d) requires that certain additional information be 
provided when the Notification and Report Form is being submitted in 
connection with the formation of a new corporation. The proposed 
amendment to the Item 5(d) instructions would require that the same 
information be provided in connection with the formation of a new 
unincorporated entity pursuant to new Sec.  801.50. Item 5(d) on the 
Notification and Report Form would be amended to include reference to 
unincorporated entities as well as corporations.
Item 7 NAICS Code Overlaps
    The instructions to Item 7 currently require the reporting of any 
NAICS codes in which the person filing notification and any other 
person that is a party to the transaction also derived revenues in the 
most recent year. This language implies that in the formation of a new 
entity, overlaps among the acquiring persons contributing to the 
formation must be reported. The Commission believes that is overly 
burdensome and provides little helpful information because the only 
relevant overlap is between the person filing notification as an 
acquiring person and the newly formed entity. The proposed new language 
would also clarify that this information is provided in connection with 
the formation of new corporations and new unincorporated entities.
Item 8 Previous Acquisitions
    The instructions to Item 8 would also be amended to include 
reference to newly formed unincorporated entities as well as 
corporations.

Communications by Outside Parties to Commissioners and Their Advisors

    Written communications and summaries or transcripts of oral 
communications respecting the merits of this proceeding from any 
outside party to any Commissioner or Commissioner's advisor will be 
placed on the public record. 16 CFR 1.26(b)(5).

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601-612, requires that the 
agency conduct an initial and final regulatory analysis of the 
anticipated economic impact of the proposed amendments on small 
businesses, except where the Commission certifies that the regulatory 
action will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities. 5 U.S.C. 605.
    Because of the size of the transactions necessary to invoke a Hart-
Scott-Rodino filing, the premerger notification rules rarely, if ever, 
affect small businesses. Indeed, the 2000 amendments to the Act were 
intended to reduce the burden of the premerger notification program by 
exempting all transactions valued at $50 million or less. Further, none 
of the proposed rule amendments expands the coverage of the premerger 
notification rules in a way that would affect small business. 
Accordingly, the Commission certifies that these proposed rules will 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. This document serves as the required notice of this 
certification to the Small Business Administration.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    The Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3518, requires agencies 
to submit ``collections of information'' to the Office of Management 
and Budget (``OMB'') and obtain clearance before instituting them. Such 
collections of information include reporting, recordkeeping, or 
disclosure requirements contained in regulations. The information 
collection requirements in the HSR rules and Form have been reviewed 
and approved by OMB under OMB Control No. 3084-0005. The current 
clearance expires on May 31, 2004, and the FTC is seeking a renewal 
clearance from OMB.\29\ Because the rule amendments proposed in this 
NPR would change existing reporting requirements, the Commission has 
submitted a Supporting Statement for Information Collection Provisions 
to OMB.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \29\ 69 FR 7225 (February 13, 2004).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Increase in Filings Due to Proposed Change in Filing Requirements for 
Non-Corporate Entities

    The proposed amendments make certain acquisitions of controlling 
interests in existing and newly-formed non-corporate entities a 
reportable event. Currently, a filing is only required if 100 percent 
of the interests in a non-corporate entity are acquired.
    Staff has estimated the increase in reportable transactions due to 
this aspect of the proposed rule by making reasonable deductions using 
publicly available statistics, from the State of Delaware, which is a 
leading domicile for U.S. and international corporations. More than 
half a million business entities have made Delaware their legal home 
including 280,000 corporations

[[Page 18695]]

and 250,000 limited liability companies and partnerships. More than 50% 
of all publicly-traded companies in the United States including 58% of 
the Fortune 500 have chosen Delaware as their legal home.\30\ Based on 
the above estimates, unincorporated entities in Delaware represent a 
figure that is 47% of the total entities registered in Delaware. In the 
absence of other relevant available data, staff believes that this is 
approximately the same proportion nationwide.
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    \30\ Delaware Division of Corporations (www.state.de.us/corp/aboutagency.shtml).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The total number of transactions requiring HSR filings in FY 2003 
in which a controlling interest in a corporation was acquired is 495. 
Applying the 47% figure from above, staff estimates a total of 233 
transactions requiring HSR filings for acquisitions of a controlling 
interest in an unincorporated entity under the proposed rules (495 x 
.47 = 233).\31\ This estimate is extremely conservative because HSR 
filings are already required for acquisitions of 100 percent of the 
interests in an unincorporated entity and for certain formations of 
LLCs. Using a conservative estimate that 50% of acquisitions of 
controlling interests in unincorporated entities are already reported 
at a different point than they will be under the proposed rules results 
in a projected increase of 117 transactions requiring HSR filings (233 
x .50 = 117).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \31\ All calculations in this section are rounded to the nearest 
whole number.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Decrease Due to Proposed Broadening of the Exemptions

    The broadening of the exemptions in the proposed rules would 
eliminate the filing requirement for a number of the projected filings 
for unincorporated entities. The intraperson exemption in Sec.  802.30 
currently only applies to corporations. The proposed amendments would 
expand this exemption to cover non-corporate entities as well. 
Additionally, proposed new Sec.  802.65 exempts the acquisition of a 
controlling interest in a non-corporate entity which is being formed in 
connection with a financing transaction. Applying an extremely 
conservative estimate of 50% of these transactions qualifying for 
exemption, the total projected decrease is 59 (117 x .50 = 59).
    This estimate is conservative, because a number of filings for 
corporate transactions would also be exempted under the proposed rules 
which would require a filing under the current rules. In particular, 
Sec.  802.4, which exempts acquisitions of voting securities of an 
issuer which holds exempt assets, is currently limited to a narrow 
range of real property and ordinary course of business related assets. 
The proposed amendment to this exemption would expand coverage to all 
assets exempted in any section of the HSR rules or the Act. Again, 
applying a conservative estimate that 10% of the total transactions 
involving acquiring a controlling interest in a corporation would now 
be exempted, a total of 50 transactions which currently require HSR 
filings would be exempted under the proposed rule (495 x .10 = 50).

Net Effect

    Staff estimates that there will be an increase of 9 transactions 
requiring HSR filings due to the proposed rule change. This represents 
a less than 1% increase as a result of the proposed rules over the 968 
total transactions that required HSR non-index filings in FY 2003 (9/
968 = .009 or 0.9%).\32\ Therefore, staff estimates that the total 
burden hours under the HSR rules as revised will be 87,530 hours, which 
is an increase of 702 hours from the staff's estimate of 86,828 hours 
for the current rules.\33\ Similarly, staff estimate the labor costs 
under the proposed rules to be $37,200,000 (rounded to the nearest 
thousand), an increase of $300,000 from the estimate of $36,902,000.
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    \32\ Clayton Act sections 7A(c)(6) and (c)(8) exempt from the 
requirements of the premerger notification program certain 
transactions that are subject to the approval of other agencies, but 
only if copies of the information submitted to these other agencies 
are also submitted to the FTC and the Assistant Attorney General. 
Thus, parties must submit copies of these ``index'' filings, but 
completing the task requires significantly less time than non-exempt 
transactions which require ``non-index'' filings.
    \33\ As explained in the Notice that solicits comment on the 
renewal clearance for the rules, the staff estimated the hours 
burden under the current rules as 86,828 hours [(21 index filings x 
2 hours) + (2,174 non-index filings x 39 hours) + (50 transactions 
requiring more precise valuation x 40 hours)]. See 69 FR 7225 
(February 13, 2004). Staff estimates that the proposed rules will 
increase by 9 the number of transactions that require non-index 
filings, thereby increasing the number of non-index filings by 18 to 
2,192 [2,174 + (9 transactions x 2 filings per transaction)]. 
Accordingly, staff estimates the hours burden for the proposed rule 
as 87,530 hours [(21 index filings x 2 hours) + (2,192 non-index 
filings x 39 hours) + (50 transactions x 40 hours)]. [(87,530 hours 
x $425/hour for executives and attorneys' wages) = $37,200,250].
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    The Commission invites comments that will enable it to: (1) 
Evaluate whether the proposed collections of information are necessary 
for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, 
including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) 
evaluate the accuracy of the Commission's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collections of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (3) enhance the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) minimize the burden 
of the collections of information on those who must comply, including 
through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or 
other technological techniques or other forms of information 
technology.

List of Subjects in 16 CFR Parts 801, 802 and 803

    Antitrust.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Federal Trade 
Commission proposes to amend 16 CFR parts 801, 802 and 803 as set forth 
below:

PART 801--COVERAGE RULES

    1. The authority citation for part 801 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 18a(d).

    2. Amend Sec.  801.1 by revising paragraphs (b)(1)(ii) and (b)(2), 
redesignating paragraph (f)(1) as (f)(1)(i) and adding paragraph 
(f)(1)(ii) to read as follows:


Sec.  801.1  Definitions.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (1) Either. (i) * * *
    (ii) In the case of an unincorporated entity, having the right to 
50 percent or more of the profits of the entity, or having the right in 
the event of dissolution to 50 percent or more of the assets of the 
entity; or
    (2) Having the contractual power presently to designate 50 percent 
or more of the directors of a for-profit or not-for-profit corporation.
* * * * *
    (f)(1)(i) Voting securities. * * *
    (ii) Non-corporate interest. The term ``non-corporate interest'' 
means an interest in any unincorporated entity which gives the holder 
the right to any profits of the entity or the right to any assets of 
the entity in the event of dissolution of that entity. These 
unincorporated entities include, but are not limited to, general 
partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships, 
limited liability companies, cooperatives and business trusts; but 
these unincorporated entities do not include trusts described in 
paragraphs (c)(3) through (5) of this section and any interest in such 
a trust is not a non-corporate interest as defined by this rule.
* * * * *
    3. Amend Sec.  801.2 by revising paragraph (d)(2)(iii), adding an 
Example

[[Page 18696]]

6 and designating the Examples as Examples 1 through 6 to paragraph 
(d)(2)(iii), and by adding paragraph (f) to read as follows:


Sec.  801.2  Acquiring and acquired persons.

* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (2) * * *
    (iii) All persons party to a transaction as a result of which all 
parties will lose their separate pre-acquisition identities or will 
become wholly owned subsidiaries of a newly formed entity shall be both 
acquiring and acquired persons. This includes any combination of 
corporations and unincorporated entities consolidating into any newly 
formed entity. In such transactions, each consolidating entity is 
deemed to be acquiring all of the voting securities (in the case of a 
corporation) or interests (in the case of an unincorporated entity) of 
each of the others. Dual-listed company arrangements under which two 
entities effectively combine their assets and operations by agreement 
are governed by this rule.

    Examples to paragraph (d)(2)(iii): * * *
    6. Partnership A and Corporation B form a new LLC in which they 
combine their businesses. A and B cease to exist and partners of A 
and shareholders of B receive membership interests in the new LLC. 
For purposes of determining reportability, A is deemed to be 
acquiring 100 percent of the voting securities of B and B is deemed 
to be acquiring 100 percent of the interests of A. Pursuant to Sec.  
803.9(b) of this chapter, even if such a transaction consists of two 
reportable acquisitions, only one filing fee is required.
* * * * *
    (f)(1)(i) In an acquisition of non-corporate interests which 
results in a person controlling the entity, that person is deemed to 
hold all of the assets of the entity as a result of the acquisition. 
The acquiring person is the person acquiring control of the entity and 
the acquired person is the pre-acquisition ultimate parent entity of 
the entity.
    (ii) The value of an acquisition described in paragraph (f)(1)(i) 
of this section is determined in accordance with Sec.  801.10(d).
    (2) Any contribution of assets or voting securities to an existing 
unincorporated entity is deemed an acquisition of such voting 
securities or assets by the ultimate parent entity of that entity. If 
the only consideration for such contribution or acquisition is 
interests in the entity, neither the contribution nor the receipt of 
interests is subject to Sec.  801.50.

    Examples to paragraph (f)(2):  1. A, B and C each hold 33\1/3\ 
percent of the interests in Partnership X. D contributes assets 
valued in excess of $50 million to X and as a result D receives 40 
percent of the interests in X and A, B and C are each reduced to 20 
percent. Partnership X is deemed to be acquiring the assets from D, 
in a transaction which may be reportable. This is not treated as a 
formation of a new partnership. Because no person will control 
Partnership X, no additional filing is required by any of the four 
partners.
    2. LLC X is its own ultimate parent entity. A contributes a 
manufacturing plant valued in excess of $200 million to X which 
issues new interests to A resulting in A having a 50% interest in X. 
A is acquiring non-corporate interests which confer control of X and 
therefore will file as an acquiring person. LLC X is not an 
acquiring person with respect to the contribution of the plant by A, 
because A held the plant prior to the transaction and continues to 
hold it through its acquisition of control of LLC X after the 
transaction is completed.

    (3) Any person who acquires control of an existing not-for-profit 
corporation which has no outstanding voting securities is deemed to be 
acquiring all of the assets of that corporation.

    Example to paragraph (f)(3):  A becomes the sole corporate 
member of not-for-profit corporation B and accordingly has the right 
to designate all of the directors of B. A is deemed to be acquiring 
all of the assets of B as a result.
    4. Amend Sec.  801.4 by revising paragraph (a) to read as follows:


Sec.  801.4  Secondary acquisitions.

    (a) Whenever as the result of an acquisition (the ``primary 
acquisition'') an acquiring person controls an entity which holds 
voting securities of an issuer that entity does not control, then the 
acquiring person's acquisition of the issuer's voting securities is a 
secondary acquisition and is separately subject to the act and these 
rules.
* * * * *
    5. Amend Sec.  801.10 by revising the heading and by adding 
paragraph (d) to read as follows:


Sec.  801.10  Value of voting securities, non-corporate interests and 
assets to be acquired.

* * * * *
    (d) Value of interests in an unincorporated entity. In an 
acquisition of non-corporate interests that confers control of either 
an existing or a newly-formed unincorporated entity, the value of the 
non-corporate interests held as a result of the acquisition is the sum 
of the acquisition price of the interests to be acquired (provided the 
acquisition price has been determined), and the fair market value of 
any of the interests in the same unincorporated entity held by the 
acquiring person prior to the acquisition; or, if the acquisition price 
has not been determined, the fair market value of interests held as a 
result of the acquisition.
    6. Amend Sec.  801.13 by revising the heading, by revising 
paragraph (b)(2), by removing the Example following paragraph (b)(2) 
and adding four Examples in its place, and adding paragraph (c) and two 
examples to read as follows:


Sec.  801.13  Aggregation of voting securities, assets and non-
corporate interests.

* * * * *
    (b) Assets. * * *
    (2) If the acquiring person signs a letter of intent or agreement 
in principle to acquire assets from an acquired person, and within the 
previous 180 days the acquiring person has:
    (i) Signed a letter of intent or agreement in principle to acquire 
assets from the same acquired person, which is still in effect but has 
not been consummated, or has acquired assets from the same acquired 
person which it still holds; and
    (ii) The contemplated or consummated previous acquisition was not 
subject to the requirements of the Act; then for purposes of the size-
of-transaction test of Section 7A(a)(2), both the acquiring and the 
acquired persons shall treat the assets that were the subject of the 
earlier letter of intent or agreement in principal as though they are 
being acquired as part of the present acquisition. The value of any 
assets which are subject to this paragraph is determined in accordance 
with Sec.  801.10(b).

    Examples to paragraph (b)(2):  1. On day 1, A enters into an 
agreement with B to acquire assets valued at $40 million. On day 90, 
A and B sign a letter of intent pursuant to which A will acquire 
additional assets from B, valued at $20 million. The original 
transaction has not closed, however, the agreement is still in 
effect. For purposes of the size-of-transaction test in Section 
7A(a)(2), A must aggregate the value of both of its acquisitions.
    2. On March 30, A enters into a letter of intent to acquire 
assets of B valued at $45 million. On January 31, earlier the same 
year, A closed on an acquisition of assets of B valued at $10 
million. For purposes of the size-of-transaction test in Section 
7A(a)(2), A must aggregate the value of both of its acquisitions.
    3. On day 1, A enters into an agreement with B to acquire assets 
valued at $60 million. A and B file notification and observe the 
waiting period. On day 60, A signs a letter of intent to acquire an 
additional $40 million of assets from B. Because the earlier 
acquisition was subject to the requirements of the Act, A does not 
aggregate the two acquisitions of assets.
    4. On day 1, A consummates an acquisition of assets of B valued 
at $30 million. On day 60, A consummates a sale of the same assets 
to an unrelated third party. On day 120, A

[[Page 18697]]

enters into an agreement to acquire additional assets of B valued at 
$30 million. Because A no longer holds the assets from the previous 
acquisition, no aggregation of the two asset acquisitions is 
required.

    (c) (1) Non-corporate interests. In an acquisition of non-corporate 
interests, any previously acquired non-corporate interests in the same 
unincorporated entity is aggregated with the newly acquired interests. 
The value of such an acquisition is determined in accordance with Sec.  
801.10(d) of these rules.
    (2) Other assets or voting securities of the same acquired person. 
An acquisition of non-corporate interests which does not confer control 
of the unincorporated entity is not aggregated with any other assets or 
voting securities which have been or are currently being acquired from 
the same acquired person.

    Examples to paragraph (c)(2):  1. A currently has the right to 
30 percent of the profits in LLC. B has the right to the remaining 
70 percent. A acquires an additional 30 percent interest in LLC from 
B for $60 million in cash. As a result of the acquisition, A is 
deemed to now have a 60 percent interest in LLC. The current 
acquisition is valued at $60 million, the acquisition price. The 
value of the 30 percent interest that A already holds is the fair 
market value of that interest. The value for size-of-transaction 
purposes is the sum of the two.
    2. A acquires the following from B: (1) all of the assets of a 
subsidiary of B; (2) all of the voting securities of another 
subsidiary of B; and (3) a 30 percent interest in an LLC which is 
currently wholly-owned by B. In determining the size-of-transaction, 
A aggregates the value of the voting securities and assets of the 
subsidiaries that it is acquiring from B, but does not include the 
value of the 30 percent interest in the LLC, pursuant to Sec.  
801.13(c)(2).

    7. Amend Sec.  801.15 by revising paragraphs (b) and (c), adding 
paragraph (d), designating the Examples as Examples to the entire 
section, and adding example 9 to read as follows:


Sec.  801.15  Aggregation of voting securities and assets the 
acquisition of which was exempt.

* * * * *
    (b) Assets or voting securities the acquisition of which was exempt 
at the time of acquisition (or would have been exempt, had the Act and 
these rules been in effect), or the present acquisition of which is 
exempt, under Section 7A(c)(9) and Sec. Sec.  802.3, 802.4, and 802.64 
of this chapter unless the limitations contained in Section 7A(c)(9) or 
those sections do not apply or as a result of the acquisition would be 
exceeded, in which case the assets or voting securities so acquired 
will be held; and
    (c) Voting securities the acquisition of which was exempt at the 
time of acquisition (or would have been exempt, had the Act and these 
rules been in effect), or the present acquisition of which is exempt, 
under section 7A(c)(11)(A) unless additional voting securities of the 
same issuer have been or are being acquired; and
    (d) Assets or voting securities the acquisition of which was exempt 
at the time of acquisition (or would have been exempt, had the Act and 
these rules been in effect), or the present acquisition of which is 
exempt, under Sec. Sec.  802.50(a), 802.51(a), 802.51(b) of this 
chapter unless the limitations, in aggregate for Sec. Sec.  802.50(a), 
802.51(a), 802.51(b), do not apply or as a result of the acquisition 
would be exceeded, in which case the assets or voting securities so 
acquired will be held.

    Examples to this section: * * *

    9. A acquires assets of B located outside of the U.S. with sales 
into the U.S. of $20 million. It also acquires voting securities of 
B's foreign subsidiary X which has sales into the U.S. of $40 
million. Both the assets and the voting securities of X are exempt 
under Sec. Sec.  802.50 and 802.51 respectively when analyzed 
separately. However, because Sec.  801.15(d) requires that the sales 
into the U.S. for both the assets and the voting securities be 
aggregated to determine whether the $50 million limitation has been 
exceeded, both are held as a result of the acquisition because the 
aggregate sales into the U.S. total $60 million.

    8. Add new Sec.  801.50 to read as follows:


Sec.  801.50  Formation of unincorporated entities.

    (a) Unless exempted by the Act or any of these rules, upon the 
formation of an unincorporated entity, in a transaction meeting the 
criteria of section 7A(a)(1) and 7A(a)(2)(A), an acquiring person is 
subject to the requirements of the Act if it acquires control of the 
newly-formed entity.
    (b) Unless exempted by the Act or any of these rules, upon the 
formation of an unincorporated entity, in a transaction meeting the 
criteria of section 7A(a)(1), the criteria of section 7A(a)(2)(B)(i), 
and the criteria of paragraph (a) of this section (other than in 
connection with a consolidation), an acquiring person is subject to the 
requirements of the Act if:
    (1)(i) The acquiring person has annual net sales or total assets of 
$100 million or more;
    (ii) The newly-formed entity has total assets of $10 million or 
more; and
    (iii) The acquiring person acquires control of the newly-formed 
entity; or
    (2)(i) The acquiring person has annual net sales or total assets of 
$10 million or more;
    (ii) The newly-formed entity has total assets of $100 million or 
more; and
    (iii) The acquiring person acquires control of the newly-formed 
entity.
    (c) For purposes of paragraph (b) of this section, the total assets 
of the newly-formed entity is determined in accordance with Sec.  
801.40(d).
    (d) Any person acquiring control of the newly-formed entity 
determines the value of its acquisition in accordance with Sec.  
801.10(d).
    (e) The commerce criterion of section 7A(a)(1) is satisfied if 
either the Activities of any acquiring person are in or affect 
commerce, or the person filing notification should reasonably believe 
that the Activities of the newly-formed entity will be in or will 
affect commerce.

PART 802--EXEMPTION RULES

    9. The authority citation for part 802 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 18a(d).

    10. Amend Sec.  802.2 by revising the introductory language in 
paragraph (g), by revising (g)(1)(ii), and by adding paragraph 
(g)(1)(iii) to read as follows:


Sec.  802.2  Certain acquisitions of real property assets.

* * * * *
    (g) Agricultural property. An acquisition of agricultural property 
and assets incidental to the ownership of such property shall be exempt 
from the requirements of the Act. Agricultural property is real 
property that primarily generates revenues from the production of 
crops, fruits, vegetables, livestock, poultry, milk and eggs (certain 
activities within NAICS sector 11).
    (1) * * *
    (ii) Any real property and assets either adjacent to or used in 
conjunction with processing facilities that are included in the 
acquisition; or
    (iii) Timberland or other real property that generates revenues 
from activities within NAICS subsector 113 (Forestry and logging) or 
NAICS industry group 1153 (Support activities for forestry and 
logging).
* * * * *
    11. Amend Sec.  802.4 by revising the heading and revising 
paragraph (a) and adding an example thereunder to read as follows:


Sec.  802.4  Acquisitions of voting securities of issuers or non-
corporate interests in unincorporated entities holding certain assets 
the acquisition of which is exempt.

    (a) An acquisition of voting securities of an issuer or non-
corporate interests in an unincorporated entity whose assets together 
with those of all entities it

[[Page 18698]]

controls consist or will consist of assets whose acquisition is exempt 
from the requirements of the Act pursuant to section 7A(c) of the Act, 
this part 802, or pursuant to Sec.  801.21 of this chapter, is exempt 
from the reporting requirements if the acquired issuer or 
unincorporated entity and all entities it controls do not hold non-
exempt assets with an aggregate fair market value of more than $50 
million. The value of voting or non-voting securities of any other 
issuer or interests in any non-corporate entity not included within the 
acquired issuer does not count toward the $50 million limitation for 
non-exempt assets.

    Example to paragraph (a): A and B form a new corporation as an 
acquisition vehicle to acquire all of the voting securities of C. 
Each contributes $250 million in cash. Because all of the cash is 
considered to be exempt assets pursuant to Sec.  801.21, the new 
corporation does not have non-exempt assets valued in excess of $50 
million, and the acquisition of its voting securities by A and B is 
exempt under Sec.  802.4. Note that the result is the same if the 
acquisition vehicle is formed as an unincorporated entity. Also see 
the examples to Sec.  802.30(c) for additional applications of Sec.  
802.4.
* * * * *
    12. Revise Sec.  802.10 to read as follows:


Sec.  802.10  Stock dividends and splits; reorganizations.

    (a) The acquisition of voting securities pursuant to a stock split 
or pro rata stock dividend is exempt from the requirements of the Act 
under section 7A(c)(10).
    (b) An acquisition of non-corporate interests or voting securities 
as a result of the conversion of a corporation or unincorporated entity 
into a new entity is exempt from the requirements of the Act if:
    (1) No new assets will be contributed to the new entity as a result 
of the conversion; and
    (2) Either:
    (i) As a result of the transaction the acquiring person does not 
increase its per centum holdings in the new entity relative to its per 
centum holdings in the original entity; or
    (ii) The acquiring person controlled the original entity.

    Examples to paragraph (b): 1. Partners A and B hold 60 percent 
and 40 percent respectively of the partnership interests in C. C is 
converted to a corporation in which A and B hold 60 percent and 40 
percent respectively of the voting securities. No new assets are 
contributed. The conversion to a corporation is exempt from 
notification for both A and B.
    2. Shareholder A holds 55% and B holds 45% of the voting 
securities of corporation C. C is converted to a limited liability 
company in which A holds 60% and B holds 40% of the membership 
interests. No new assets are contributed. The conversion to a 
limited liability company is exempt from notification because A 
controlled the corporation. If however, B holds 55% and A holds 45% 
in the new limited liability company, the conversion is not exempt 
for B and may require notification because control changes.
    3. Shareholders A, B and C each hold one third of the voting 
securities of corporation X. Pursuant to a reorganization agreement, 
A and B each contribute new assets to X and C contributes cash. X is 
then being reincorporated in a new state. Each of A, B and C receive 
one third of the voting securities of newly reincorporated C. The 
reincorporation is not exempt from notification and may be 
reportable for A, B and C because of the contribution of new assets.

    13. Revise Sec.  802.30 to read as follows:


Sec.  802.30  Intraperson transactions.

    (a) An acquisition (other than the formation of a corporation or 
unincorporated entity under Sec.  801.40 or Sec.  801.50 of this 
chapter) in which the acquiring and at least one of the acquired 
persons are, the same person by reason of Sec.  801.1(b)(1) of this 
chapter, or in the case of a not-for-profit corporation which has no 
outstanding voting securities, by reason of Sec.  801.1(b)(2) of this 
chapter, is exempt from the requirements of the Act.

    Examples: Examples to paragraph (a):
    1. A and B each have the right to 50% of the profits of 
partnership X. A also holds 100% of the voting securities of 
corporation Y. A pays B $100 million in cash and transfers certain 
assets of X to Y. Because A is the acquiring person through its 
control of Y, pursuant to Sec.  801.1(b)(1)(i), and one of the 
acquired persons through its control of X pursuant to Sec.  
801.1(b)(1)(ii) , the acquisition of assets is exempt under Sec.  
802.30(a).
    2. A and B each have the right to 50% of the profits of 
partnership X. A contributes assets to X valued in excess of $50 
million. B contributes cash to X. Because B is an acquiring person 
but not an acquired person, its acquisition of the assets 
contributed to X by A is not exempt under Sec.  802.30(a). However, 
A is both an acquiring and acquired person, and its acquisition of 
the assets it is contributing to X is exempt under Sec.  802.30(a).

    (b) The formation of any wholly owned entity is exempt from the 
requirements of the Act.
    (c) Assets contributed to a new entity upon its formation are not 
subject to the requirements of the Act with respect to the person 
contributing the assets to the formation.

    Examples to paragraph (c): 1. A and B form a new partnership to 
which A contributes a manufacturing plant valued at $51 million and 
acquires a 51% interest in the partnership. B contributes $49 
million in cash and acquires a 49% interest. B is not acquiring non-
corporate interests which confer control of the partnership and 
therefore is not making a reportable acquisition. A is acquiring 
non-corporate interests which confer control of the partnership, 
however, the manufacturing plant it is contributing to the formation 
is exempt under Sec.  802.30(c) and the cash contributed by B is 
excluded under Sec.  801.21, therefore, the acquisition of non-
corporate interests by A is exempt under Sec.  802.4.
    2. A and B form a new corporation to which A contributes a plant 
valued at $120 million and acquires 60% of the voting securities of 
the new corporation. B contributes a plant valued at $80 million and 
acquires 40% of the voting securities of the new corporation. While 
the assets contributed to the formation are exempted by Sec.  
802.30(c) for each of A and B, the new corporation holds more than 
$50 million in non-exempt assets (the plant contributed by the other 
person) with respect to both acquisitions. A is now acquiring voting 
securities of an issuer which holds $80 million in non-exempt assets 
(the plant contributed by B), and B is acquiring voting securities 
of an issuer which holds $120 million in non-exempt assets (the 
plant contributed by A). Therefore neither acquisition of voting 
securities is exempt under Sec.  802.4. Note that in contrast to the 
formation of the partnership in Example 1, B is not required to 
acquire a controlling interest in the corporation in order to have a 
reportable transaction.
    3. A and B form a 50/50 partnership. A contributes a plant 
valued at $60 million and B contributes a plant valued at $40 
million and $20 million in cash. Because with respect to A, the new 
partnership has non-exempt assets of $40 million (the plant 
contributed by B), A's acquisition of non-corporate interests is 
exempt under Sec.  802.4. With respect to B, the new partnership 
holds $60 million in non-exempt assets (the plant contributed by A), 
therefore B's acquisition of non-corporate interests would not be 
exempt under Sec.  802.4.

    14. Revise Sec.  802.40 to read as follows:


Sec.  802.40  Exempt formation of corporations or unincorporated 
entities.

    The formation of an entity is exempt from the requirements of the 
Act if the entity will be not-for-profit within the meaning of sections 
501(c)(1)-(4), (6)-(15), (17)-(20) or (d) of the Internal Revenue Code.
    15. Amend Sec.  802.41 by revising the heading and the introductory 
text to read as follows:


Sec.  802.41  Corporations or unincorporated entities at time of 
formation.

    Whenever any person(s) contributing to the formation of an entity 
are subject to the requirements of the Act by reason of Sec.  801.40 or 
Sec.  801.50 of this chapter, the new entity need not file the 
notification required by the Act and Sec.  803.1 of this chapter.

    Examples: 
* * * * *

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    16. Add new Sec.  802.65 to read as follows:


Sec.  802.65  Exempt acquisition in formation of unincorporated entity.

    In a transaction to which Sec.  801.50 of this chapter applies, an 
acquisition of non-corporate interests that confers control of the 
newly-formed unincorporated entity is exempt from the notification 
requirements of the Act if:
    (a) The acquiring person is contributing only cash to the 
formation;
    (b) The formation transaction is in the ordinary course of the 
acquiring person's business;
    (c) The terms of the formation agreement are such that the 
acquiring person will no longer control the entity after it realizes 
its preferred return; and
    (d) The acquiring person will not be a competitor to the new 
entity.

PART 803--TRANSMITTAL RULES

    17. The authority citation for part 803 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 18a(d).

    18. Revise the Appendix to part 803 to read as follows:
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P

Appendix to Part 803

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    By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.

[FR Doc. 04-7537 Filed 4-7-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-C