9 February 2026 • 8 minute read

Inside Competition: February 2026

The latest in antitrust and competition law

Inside Competition is designed to help companies identify key legal developments in antitrust and competition law in the United States.

In addition to reporting on antitrust litigation and enforcement actions over the previous month, this bulletin addresses policy developments, regulatory trends, and agency priorities shaping competition law today.

Our goal is to provide insights that help businesses identify risk, respond to investigations, and compete in a rapidly evolving legal landscape.

Civil litigation

Nurse-midwife association challenges Mississippi physician collaboration requirements as unconstitutional and anticompetitive. In American College of Nurse-Midwives v. Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure, et al., case number 3:26-cv-00040, the American College of Nurse-Midwives filed a complaint on January 20, 2026, challenging Mississippi statutory and regulatory restrictions that require certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) to obtain collaboration agreements with physicians before practicing. The complaint in part alleges that Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure regulations constitute per se illegal price fixing and territorial allocation in violation of federal and Mississippi state antitrust laws. Plaintiffs seek declaratory and permanent injunctive relief.

Jury awards $1 in swimming antitrust trial. After eight days of trial in the Northern District of California, jurors awarded $1 to the International Swimming League for antitrust injuries it sustained in the global professional swimming market. In bringing the lawsuit, the International Swimming League alleged that World Aquatics, the international governing body for swimming and other aquatic sports, threatened swimmers with sanctions and disqualification from the Olympics if they participated in International Swimming League events. The jury found that World Aquatics and one or more of its member federations unreasonably restrained trade in violation of § 1 of the Sherman Act by agreeing to boycott International Swimming League events.

Puerto Rico baseball league urges Supreme Court to maintain baseball's antitrust exemption. In Cangrejeros de Santurce Baseball Club, LLC, et al. v. Liga de Béisbol Profesional de Puerto Rico Inc., et al., No. 25-416, Puerto Rico's professional baseball league filed a brief in opposition on January 24, 2026, urging the Supreme Court to deny a petition seeking to overturn baseball's century-old antitrust exemption. The case arose after the Cangrejeros de Santurce franchise owner, Thomas Axon, was suspended and ultimately expelled from the league following a dispute over stadium conditions and his threat to relocate the team. The league argues that the conduct at issue – franchise relocation and internal league organization – falls squarely within the "business of baseball" antitrust exemption established in Federal Baseball Club of Baltimore, Inc. v. National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, 259 U.S. 200 (1922), and that the Supreme Court should not overturn more than a century of precedent.

Criminal enforcement

DOJ Antitrust Division’s Whistleblower Rewards Program leads to first payout. On January 29, 2026, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division announced its first whistleblower reward under its Whistleblower Rewards Program, administered in partnership with the US Postal Service, just six months after the program’s launch. The whistleblower was awarded $1 million for disclosing that EBLOCK Corporation failed to stop its acquiree’s involvement in a bid-rigging conspiracy. EBLOCK ultimately paid a $2.28 million fine as part of a deferred prosecution agreement. Companies are encouraged to note that even incidental use of the postal system in connection with anticompetitive conduct can expose them to significant criminal liability under this framework.

DOJ publishes 2025 criminal enforcement statistics. In fiscal year 2025, the DOJ Antitrust Division charged five corporations with antitrust violations, matching 2024's total. Meanwhile, individual enforcement rose sharply as 29 individuals were charged, amounting to a 45-percent year-over-year increase. The Division filed 27 criminal cases, its highest total since 2016. Despite this uptick in case activity, criminal fines and penalties totaled approximately $6 million, falling below the $10.6 million imposed in 2024 and $267 million imposed in 2023. The data suggests that, while headline fines remain subdued compared to previous years, the Division's enforcement pipeline continues to grow, with new filings potentially laying groundwork for future penalties.

Merger review and challenges

CFIUS requires divestiture in semiconductor acquisition. On January 3, 2026, the White House published a Presidential Order directing HieFo Corporation, a Delaware corporation that qualifies as a “foreign person” because it is controlled by a citizen of the People’s Republic of China, to divest certain assets it had acquired from New Jersey-based EMCORE Corporation. The divested assets comprised EMCORE’s digital chips and related wafer design, fabrication, and processing business, which included a semiconductor manufacturing facility. The order followed the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS)’s finding that the acquisition posed a national security risk related to access to EMCORE’s intellectual property, proprietary know-how, and expertise, as well as to the potential diversion from the US of indium phosphide chips manufactured by EMCORE.

Edwards Lifesciences and JenaValve abandon combination following adverse court ruling. In August 2025, following a year-long investigation, the FTC filed parallel administrative and federal court complaints challenging Edwards Lifesciences’ $945 million acquisition of JenaValve. According to the FTC, Edwards Lifesciences agreed to acquire JenaValve and JC Medical in July 2024, the only two research and development companies in US clinical trials that supply transcatheter aortic valve replacement devices designed to treat a heart condition called aortic regurgitation (TAVR-AR devices). In January 2026, the US District Court for the District of Columbia granted the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction, preventing consummation of the JenaValve acquisition during the pendency of court proceedings. In response, Edwards Lifesciences announced that the parties had abandoned the transaction.

FTC requires divestiture of intermediate-care residential facilities for individuals with disabilities. On January 29, 2026, the FTC cleared Sevita Health’s $835 million acquisition of BrightSpring Health Services’ ResCare Community Living business (ResCare), subject to certain divestitures. According to the FTC’s complaint, Sevita Health and ResCare are direct competitors in intermediate care residential facilities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ICF/IDD), noting that such direct competition between the parties ensures both quality and consumer choice in this field. The FTC’s consent decree requires Sevita Health to divest 128 ICF/IDDs in Indiana, Louisiana, and Texas to Dungarvin Group. The consent decree also prohibits Sevita, for a period of ten years, from acquiring any interest in any ICF/IDD located within the same core-based statistical area as any divested facility without advance notification to the FTC.

DOJ requires divestitures in packaged ice merger. Pursuant to a settlement with the DOJ, Reddy Ice agreed to divest assets in California, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, and Washington as a condition for acquiring rival packaged ice supplier Arctic Glacier. Reddy Ice sells packaged ice in 39 US states, while Arctic Glacier operates in 19 US states, including the five in question. Following an investigation under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act, the DOJ claimed that the transaction would have led to higher prices and lower service quality in packaged ice sold to retail outlets, airlines, and airline caterers in the states in which both parties currently operate. The stipulated proposed final judgment also requires the parties to provide the DOJ advance notification for certain future transactions and to allow a monitor to supervise the divestiture and compliance with the consent decree.