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On 21 September 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it was suing US Anesthesia Partners, Inc. (USAP) and its private equity owner Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (WCAS) in the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The lawsuit targets a common private equity strategy known as a “roll-up.” A roll-up merger typically occurs when a private equity company acquires several small companies in the same market and subsequently merges those companies.

On 14 September 2023, Canada announced further amendments to the Special Economic Measures (Iran) Regulations (the “Regulations”) in an effort to impose costs on the Iranian regime for gross and systemic human rights violations. These amendments list an additional six individuals under Schedule 1 of the Regulations and is the 14th set of amending regulations issued by Canada since October 2022. As of the most recent amendments, Canada has sanctioned 176 Iranian individuals and 192 Iranian entities.

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the US Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) (together “Agencies”) each have recently taken enforcement actions that demonstrate renewed attention on interlocking directorates (in which individuals simultaneously serve as directors on the boards of competing companies). Interlocking directorates are prohibited under Section 8 of the Clayton Act unless one of its de minimis exceptions applies. Those exceptions are dependent upon the volume of revenues derived from products sold by the operative companies in competition with one another.

On September 8, 2023, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a press release that starting in October 2023, the agency will begin mailing compliance letters to partnerships as part of its increasing focus on large partnerships and complex partnership returns. These compliance letters will likely impact partnerships with over $10 million in assets; however, the IRS maintains a broader goal of increasing audit activity and examinations of large partnerships and high-income taxpayers.

Baker McKenzie is pleased to invite you to a morning breakfast symposium exploring the legal ramifications of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution on 11 October 2023 at 8:00 to 10:30 am ET. This event is ideal for corporate counsel and senior leaders responsible for managing the risks and leveraging the opportunities of the AI revolution, and for those wishing to learn more. It will take place in our Toronto office.

On August 14, 2023, the US State Department, the Labor Department, and the Commerce Department issued a business advisory (“Business Advisory”) highlighting key risks for companies operating in South Sudan.
While it does not impose new legal obligations on companies, the Business Advisory highlights the fact that list-based sanctions remain in force targeting certain South Sudanese persons including designations under the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, and the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security’s Entity List.

On 25 August 2023, the United States Treasury Department issued a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding tax reporting by brokers of transactions involving the sale or exchange of digital assets (“Proposed Regulations”). These long-awaited Proposed Regulations are in response to section 80603 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, which expanded the scope of information reporting obligations for brokers under Code section 6045 to cover transfers of digital assets.

Baker McKenzie’s Sanctions Blog published the alert titled  Canada continues to amend sanctions legislation in relation to Iran, Belarus, Russia and designates Lebanese nationals under Magnitsky law on 30 August 2023. Read the article via the link here. Please also visit our Sanctions Blog for the most recent updates.