Pays $750,000 to settle FTC antitrust suit

Trump agrees to pay a $750,000 civil penalty to settle an antitrust lawsuit brought by the FTC, alleging his 1986 stock purchase of Holiday Corp. and Bally Manufacturing Corp, as part of a takeover bid, violated the notification procedures required by the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act. The law requires that buyers must notify the government before purchasing more than $15 million worth of voting stock in a company and wait 30 days before completing the transaction.

[I decided to settle the case] to avoid protracted litigation within the federal government over a highly technical disagreement between the FTC and the business community…I firmly believe that I was in full compliance with the Hart- Scott-Rodino Act reporting restrictions…The most respected lawyers in the business’ [told me the law exempted the purchase of stock options]. Bear, Stearns also gave me the same assurance. I assume Bear, Stearns will reimburse me for the expense.