American Water and Essential Utilities Announce Expiration of Hart-Scott-Rodino Waiting Period for Proposed Merger

The companies announced on Aug. 17 that the waiting period required under the U.S. Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust process had expired. The announcement covers the proposed combination of American Water Works Company and Essential Utilities, whose shares trade as AWK and WTRG, respectively.

The immediate mechanism is regulatory timing: expiration allows the companies to move past this phase of the federal antitrust review. The release does not provide a new merger consideration, revised timetable, or additional detail on any remaining regulatory or shareholder conditions.

The next relevant disclosures are the companies' updates on the broader set of closing conditions and the expected completion timeline. The filing also leaves open whether other reviews or transaction requirements will affect the path to closing.