On June 1, MFA submitted a letter with the Council of Institutional Investors (CII) to the new Federal Trade Commission Chairman Joseph Simons.
In the letter, MFA and CII urged the FTC to adopt a 5% “de minimis” exemption from the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act’s filing and waiting-period requirements. This new, bright-line exemption would complement the existing investment-only exemption (which would apply to investments that are greater than 5% but no more than 10% of an issuer’s voting securities). The letter notes that MFA and CII have separately proposed language to clarify the ambiguous scope of the investment-only exemption.
Shortly after submission of the letter, FTC Commissioner Noah Phillips asked MFA and CII for a meeting on June 18 to discuss our HSR concerns and requests.
