The Federal Trade Commission said Edwards Lifesciences and Genesis MedTech together would pay $12 million to settle allegations they structured a deal to avoid an antitrust review and potential closing delay.

Regulators in their complaint alleged the companies structured the transaction value of Edwards's July 2024 purchase of Genesis-unit JC Medical -- which was developing an aortic-valve replacement device -- to fall just below the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act reporting threshold, the FTC said Monday. The agency's complaint also alleged that Edwards and Genesis closed the deal without observing the mandatory waiting period under the act.

The day after the acquisition closed, Edwards moved to buy JenaValve Technology, JC Medical's only competitor, according to the regulator. The FTC complaint alleged that Edwards was concerned that the JenaValve negotiations and concurrent JC Medical Hart-Scott-Rodino Act antitrust review would have significantly delayed the closing of the deal for the Genesis unit.

Under a proposed court order, Edwards and JC Medical would pay $10 million and Genesis would pay $2 million, the FTC said.

The proposed order also requires Edwards to give the FTC advance notice before buying any company that sells, is in U.S. clinical trials for, or has Food and Drug Administration authorization to trial devices for treating aortic regurgitation with transcatheter valves. The company must also implement an antitrust-compliance program, the order said.

Edwards agreed to resolve the FTC's complaint without admitting wrongdoing and believes it complied with the law, a spokesperson said, adding that the settlement was the best path forward. Genesis didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The agency said the penalty is the largest to date for failing to make a pre-merger filing under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act.

Write to Doc Louallen at Doc.Louallen@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 13, 2026 17:44 ET (21:44 GMT)

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