Hearst to pay largest HSR civil penalty.(Hearst Corp court cases settlement)(Brief Article)

Hearst Corp. will pay a $4 million civil penalty to settle FTC charges that it failed to produce some Hart-Scott-Rodino Act 4(c) documents -- all studies, surveys, analyses and reports needed to analyze likely competitive effects of deals -- before acquiring Medi-Span Inc., a producer of integratable drug data files.

This is the most a company has ever paid for alleged Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act premerger filing violations. The 4(c) documents are those that: (a) are prepared by or for an officer or director; (b) analyze or evaluate the acquisition subject to HSR filing; and (c) address market, market share, competition, competitors, opportunities for sales growth or …