David Beddow

David Beddow devotes a significant portion of his practice defending mergers and acquisitions before the U.S. antitrust agencies—the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ)—under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.

In recent years, Dave has represented clients in major transactions in the defense, healthcare, computer, supermarket, drug store, food products, gaming, manufacturing, and communications industries.

He has served on the planning committee for the ABA’s International Section Spring Meetings and Fall Meetings for the last several years, was a speaker at the 2008 Fall Meeting in Brussels, and has served on ABA committees preparing comments on proposed European Commission merger regulation amendments and guidelines and proposals regarding private actions. Dave also has been named by Chambers USA as a leading lawyer in antitrust, and recognized by PLC’s 2010 Which Lawyer Guide as a leading competition/antitrust lawyer.

Experience:

Among Dave’s transactions have been hospital mergers, mergers and acquisitions for Fortune 500 companies, and mergers involving multi-national companies. Dave represented Gemstar International, which is in the interactive television business, before the DOJ, in its high-profile merger with TV Guide, Inc., and negotiated the settlement of the FTC case against MSC Software Corporation, which had challenged two MSC acquisitions that had already closed.

He represented International Game Technology in its mergers with Acres Gaming and Anchor Gaming. He represented Eckerd Drugs and Brooks Pharmacy in their US$2.6 billion sale to the Rite Aid drug store chain and the 2007 settlement with the FTC. In 2007, he represented Western Digital in its acquisition of Komag and has represented Western Digital on other transactions.

In 2012, he obtained FTC clearance on behalf of Magma Design Automation for its sale to Synopsys. In 2013, he obtained FTC clearance for Regis Corporation in its sale of Hair Club to Aderans Co. and Bosley, Inc., and in 2014 represented CoreLogic, Inc. in negotiating a settlement with the FTC allowing CoreLogic to acquire Marshall & Swift/Boeckh and DataQuick Information Systems.”

Dave wrote a chapter in the ABA’s 2001 revision of The Merger Review Process and the chapters on mergers and acquisitions and on joint ventures for the 2002 supplement to the ABA’s Antitrust Law Developments treatise, and wrote part of the most recent version of the ABA’s Antitrust Law Developments. Dave has extensive experience on the procedural aspects of the HSR Act, and served on an important ABA Task Force in 2000-01 which made recommendations on improving the HSR Second Request process.

He has also advised FTC staff on HSR issues and represented Gemstar in DOJ’s HSR “gun-jumping” case, which was settled in February 2003, and Valueact Capital in the FTC’s HSR “failure to file” case, which was settled in 2008.

Admissions:

• District of Columbia
• U.S. District Court, District of Columbia
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Third and District of Columbia Circuits
• U.S. Claims Court

Education:

• University of Virginia, J.D., 1979: Virginia Law Review, 1977-1979
• Colgate University, B.A., 1976: magna cum laude; high honors in history; Phi Beta Kappa; Phi Alpha Theta

Member:

• Former Chair, Federal Bar Association Transportation Section
• Columbia University Law School, Antitrust Project Advisory Board
• American Bar Association, Antitrust Section (member of Mergers and Acquisitions and
• Transportation Industry Committees)
• American Bar Association, International Law Section
• Board of Directors for the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs