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Latest Trends in Antitrust Termination Fees
As the M&A regulatory environment has tightened over the last few years, we have seen a significant increase in the inclusion of antitrust termination fees in definitive M&A agreements. An antitrust termination fee is a termination fee potentially payable by the acquirer if the transaction cannot close due to lack of regulatory approval. Essentially, if the deal is blocked by a regulatory agency then the acquirer would be required to pay the antitrust termination fee to the target. Given the government’s recent scrutiny of deals involving government contractors, we may see an increased use of termination fees.