The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Bureau of Competition has issued new guidance relating to the merger filing process. Effective September 27, 2021, the FTC will recommend enforcement action for companies that fail to include debt to be paid at closing in calculating the transaction value for purposes of the HSR Act. With the risk of harsher antitrust enforcement and the uncertainties surrounding this new policy, transacting parties need to be especially careful when submitting HSR filings. Our team details the FTC’s new position in our recent client newsflash.