Capital One Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: COF) CEO Richard Fairbank agreed to settle a complaint by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleging that he violated antitrust laws.
According to the FTC, Fairbank agreed to the proposed final judgment ordering him to pay a civil penalty of $637,930 to resolve the charges against him in connection with his acquisition of Capital One securities in 2018.
In the civil antitrust complaint, the FTC alleged that Fairbank failed to comply with the pre-transaction notification and the waiting period requirements of Section 7A of the Clayton Act, commonly known as the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act of 1976 (HSR Act)
The HSR Act requires individuals and companies acquiring voting securities or assets that meet certain size thresholds to file notifications with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FTC to conduct a pre-transaction antitrust review. The law also requires acquiring entities to observe a waiting period before consummating certain acquisitions of voting securities or assets.
