Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 154 / Wednesday, August 10, 2011 / Notices 49479 

1 72 FR 15544 et seq. 

2This number, which was also used in the 2008 

clearance request, appears to be consistent with the 

number of business format franchise offerings 

registered in compliance with state franchise laws, 

and listed in franchise directories. 

and regulations to become a bank 

holding company and/or to acquire the 

assets or the ownership of, control of, or 

the power to vote shares of a bank or 

bank holding company and all of the 

banks and nonbanking companies 

owned by the bank holding company, 

including the companies listed below. 

The applications listed below, as well 

as other related filings required by the 

Board, are available for immediate 

inspection at the Federal Reserve Bank 

indicated. The application also will be 

available for inspection at the offices of 

the Board of Governors. Interested 

persons may express their views in 

writing on the standards enumerated in 

the BHC Act (12 U.S.C. 1842(c)). If the 

proposal also involves the acquisition of 

a nonbanking company, the review also 

includes whether the acquisition of the 

nonbanking company complies with the 

standards in section 4 of the BHC Act 

(12 U.S.C. 1843). Unless otherwise 

noted, nonbanking activities will be 

conducted throughout the United States. 

Unless otherwise noted, comments 

regarding each of these applications 

must be received at the Reserve Bank 

indicated or the offices of the Board of 

Governors not later than September 6, 

2011. 

A. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago 

(Colette A. Fried, Assistant Vice 

President) 230 South LaSalle Street, 

Chicago, Illinois 60690–1414: 

1. Wintrust Financial Corporation, 

Lake Forest, Illinois; to merge with Elgin 

State Bancorp, Inc., and thereby 

indirectly acquire Elgin State Bank, both 

in Elgin, Illinois. 

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 

System, August 5, 2011. 

Robert deV. Frierson, 

Deputy Secretary of the Board. 

[FR Doc. 2011–20261 Filed 8–9–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6210–01–P 

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

Franchise Rule Information Collection 

Activities; Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’ or ‘‘FTC’’). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The information collection 

requirements described below will be 

submitted to the Office of Management 

and Budget (‘‘OMB’’) for review, as 

required by the Paperwork Reduction 

Act (‘‘PRA’’). The FTC is seeking public 

comments on its proposal to extend 

through December 31, 2014, the current 

PRA clearance for information 

collection requirements contained in its 

Trade Regulation Rule on Disclosure 

Requirements and Prohibitions 

Concerning Franchising (‘‘Franchise 

Rule’’). That clearance expires on 

December 31, 2011. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before October 11, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a 

comment online or on paper, by 

following the instructions in the 

Request for Comment part of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 

below. Write ‘‘Franchise Rule, PRA 

Comment, FTC File No. P094400’’ on 

your comment, and file your comment 

online at https:// 

ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/ 

franchiserulePRA by following the 

instructions on the Web-based form. If 

you prefer to file your comment on 

paper, mail or deliver your comment to 

the following address: Federal Trade 

Commission, Office of the Secretary, 

Room H–113 (Annex J), 600 

Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 

Washington, DC 20580. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of the proposed information 

requirements for the Franchise Rule 

should be addressed to Craig Tregillus, 

Staff Attorney, Division of Marketing 

Practices, Bureau of Consumer 

Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 

Room H–238, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., 

NW., Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326– 

2970. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the 

PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501–3521, Federal 

agencies must obtain approval from 

OMB for each collection of information 

they conduct or sponsor. ‘‘Collection of 

information’’ means agency requests or 

requirements that members of the public 

submit reports, keep records, or provide 

information to a third party. 44 U.S.C. 

3502(3); 5 CFR 1320.3(c). As required by 

section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the 

FTC is providing this opportunity for 

public comment before requesting that 

OMB extend the existing paperwork 

clearance for the Franchise Rule, 16 CFR 

part 436 (OMB Control Number 3084– 

0107). 

The FTC invites comments on: (1) 

Whether the proposed collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(2) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate 

of the burden of the proposed collection 

of information, including the validity of 

the methodology and assumptions used; 

(3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, 

and clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (4) ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information 

on those who are to respond, including 

through the use of appropriate 

automated, electronic, mechanical, or 

other technological collection 

techniques or other forms of information 

technology, e.g., permitting electronic 

submission of responses. 

The Franchise Rule ensures that 

consumers who are considering a 

franchise investment have access to the 

material information they need to make 

an informed investment decision 

provided in a format that facilitates 

comparisons of different franchise 

offerings. The Rule requires that 

franchisors disclose this information to 

consumers and maintain records to 

facilitate enforcement of the Rule. 

Amendments to the Rule promulgated 

on March 30, 2007, which took effect 

after a one-year phase-in on July 1, 

2008, merged the Rule’s disclosure 

requirements with the disclosure format 

accepted by 15 states that have franchise 

registration or disclosure laws.1 The 

amended Rule has significantly 

minimized any compliance burden 

beyond what is already required by state 

law. 

The amended Rule requires 

franchisors to furnish to prospective 

purchasers with a Franchise Disclosure 

Document (‘‘FDD’’) that provides 

information relating to the franchisor, 

its business, the nature of the proposed 

franchise, and any representations by 

the franchisor about financial 

performance regarding actual or 

potential sales, income, or profits made 

to a prospective franchise purchaser. 

The franchisor must preserve materially 

different copies of its disclosures and 

franchise agreements, as well as 

information that forms a reasonable 

basis for any financial performance 

representation it elects to make. These 

requirements are subject to the PRA, 

and for which the Commission seeks to 

extend existing clearance. 

Estimated annual hours burden: 

16,750 hours. 

Based on a review of trade 

publications and information from state 

regulatory authorities, staff believes 

that, on average, from year to year, there 

are approximately 2,500 sellers of 

franchises covered by the Rule, with 

perhaps about 10% of that total 

reflecting an equal amount of new and 

departing business entrants.2

Commission staffs burden hour estimate 

reflects the incremental tasks that the 

Rule may impose beyond the 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
49480 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 154 / Wednesday, August 10, 2011 / Notices 

3See 73 FR 40580 (July 15, 2008); 73 FR 60696 

(Oct. 14, 2008). 

4Based on mean and median hourly rates for file 

clerks found in the ‘‘National Compensation 

Survey: Occupational Earnings in the United States 

2010,’’ U.S. Department of Labor, released May 

2011, Bulletin 2753, Table 3 (‘‘Full-time civilian 

workers,’’ mean and median hourly wages), 

available at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/sp/ 

nctb1477.pdf. 

information and recordkeeping 

requirements imposed by state law and/ 

or followed by franchisors who have 

been using the FDD disclosure format 

nationwide. This estimate likely 

overstates the actual incremental burden 

because some franchisors, for various 

reasons, may not be covered by the Rule 

(e.g., they sell only franchises that 

qualify for the Rule’s large franchise 

investment exemption of at least $1 

million). 

Staff estimates that the average annual 

disclosure burden to update existing 

disclosure documents will be 3 hours 

each for the 2,250 established 

franchisors, or 6,750 hours cumulatively 

for them, and 30 hours apiece each year 

for the 250 or so new entrant franchisors 

to prepare their initial disclosure 

documents, or 7,500 hours, 

cumulatively, for the latter group. These 

estimates parallel staff’s 2008 estimates 

for the amended Rule.3 No public 

comments were received on those prior 

estimates; accordingly, the FTC retains 

them for the instant analysis subject to 

further opportunity for public comment. 

As recognized in the 2008 analysis, 

covered franchisors also may need to 

maintain additional documentation for 

the sale of franchises in non-registration 

states, which could take up to an 

additional hour of recordkeeping per 

year. Assuming, as before, an hour of 

incremental recordkeeping per covered 

franchisor, this yields an additional 

cumulative total of 2,500 hours for all 

covered franchisors. 

Under the Rule, a franchisor is 

required to retain copies of receipts for 

disclosure documents, as well as 

materially different versions of its 

disclosure documents. Such 

recordkeeping requirements, however, 

are consistent with, or less burdensome 

than, those imposed by the states. 

Accordingly, staff believes that 

incremental recordkeeping burden, if 

any, would be de minimis. 

Based on the above assumptions and 

estimates, average yearly burden for 

new and established franchisors during 

a prospective 3-year clearance would be 

16,750 hours ((30 hours of annual 

disclosure burden × 250 new 

franchisors) + (3 hours of average 

annual disclosure burden × 2,250 

established franchisors) + (1 hour of 

annual recordkeeping burden × 2,500 

franchisors)). 

Estimated annual labor cost burden: 

$3,597,500. 

Labor costs are derived by applying 

appropriate hourly cost figures to the 

burden hours described above. The 

hourly rates used below are estimated 

averages. 

Commission staff anticipates that an 

attorney will prepare the disclosure 

document. Applying the above 

assumptions to an estimated hourly 

attorney rate of $250, yields the 

following yearly totals: $7,500 per new 

franchisor (or, $1,875,000, cumulatively, 

for new franchisors) and $750 per 

established franchisor (or, $1,687,500, 

cumulatively, for established 

franchisors). 

Combined, then, cumulative labor 

costs for all covered franchisors to 

prepare the disclosure document is 

$3,562,500. 

The FTC additionally anticipates that 

recordkeeping under the Rule will be 

performed by clerical staff at 

approximately $14 per hour.4 Thus, 

2,500 hours of recordkeeping burden 

per year for all covered franchisors will 

amount to a total annual labor cost of 

$35,000. 

Cumulatively, then, total estimated 

labor cost under the Rule is $3,597,500 

(($7,500 attorney costs × 250 new 

franchisors = $1,875,000) + ($750 

attorney costs × 2,250 established 

franchisors = $1,687,500) + ($14 clerical 

costs × 2,500 franchisors = $35,000)). 

Estimated non-labor costs: 

$8,000,000. 

In developing cost estimates initially 

for this Rule, FTC staff consulted with 

practitioners who prepare disclosure 

documents for a cross-section of 

franchise systems. The FTC believes 

that its cost estimates remain 

representative of the costs incurred by 

franchise systems generally. In addition, 

many franchisors establish and maintain 

Web sites for ordinary business 

purposes, including advertising their 

goods or services and to facilitate 

communication with the public. 

Accordingly, any costs franchisors 

would incur specifically as a result of 

electronic disclosure under the Rule 

appear to be minimal. 

As set forth in the 2008 Notices, FTC 

staff estimates that the non-labor burden 

incurred by franchisors under the 

Franchise Rule differ based on the 

length of the disclosure document and 

the number of them produced. Staff 

estimates that 2,000 franchisors (80% of 

total franchisors covered by the Rule) 

will print and mail 100 disclosure 

documents at $35 each. Thus, these 

franchisors would each incur an 

estimated $3,500 in printing and 

mailing costs. Staff estimates that the 

remaining 20% of covered franchisors 

(500) will transmit 50% of their 100 

disclosure documents electronically, at 

$5 per electronic disclosure. Thus, these 

franchisors will each incur $2,000 in 

distribution costs (($250 for electronic 

disclosure [$5 for electronic disclosure 

× 50 disclosure documents]) + ($1,750 

for printing and mailing [$35 for 

printing and mailing × 50 disclosure 

documents])). 

Accordingly, the cumulative annual 

non-labor costs for the Rule is 

approximately $8,000,000 (($3,500 

printing and mailing costs × 2,000 

franchisors = $7,000,000) + ($250 

electronic distribution costs + $1,750 

printing and mailing costs) × 500 

franchisors = $1,000,000)). 

Request for Comment 

You can file a comment online or on 

paper. For the FTC to consider your 

comment, we must receive it on or 

before October 11, 2011. Write 

‘‘Franchise Rule, PRA Comment, FTC 

File No. P094400’’ on your comment. 

Your comment—including your name 

and your state—will be placed on the 

public record of this proceeding, 

including, to the extent practicable, on 

the public Commission Web site, at 

http://www.ftc.gov/os/ 

publiccomments.shtm. As a matter of 

discretion, the Commission tries to 

remove individuals’ home contact 

information from comments before 

placing them on the Commission Web 

site. 

Because your comment will be made 

public, you are solely responsible for 

making sure that your comment does 

not include any sensitive personal 

information, like anyone’s Social 

Security number, date of birth, driver’s 

license number or other state 

identification number or foreign country 

equivalent, passport number, financial 

account number, or credit or debit card 

number. You are also solely responsible 

for making sure that your comment does 

not include any sensitive health 

information, like medical records or 

other individually identifiable health 

information. In addition, do not include 

any ‘‘[trade secret or any commercial or 

financial information which is obtained 

from any person and which is privileged 

or confidential * * *’’ as provided in 

Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 

46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 

4.10(a)(2). If you want the Commission 

to give your comment confidential 

treatment, you must file it in paper 

form, with a request for confidential 

treatment, and you have to follow the 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 154 / Wednesday, August 10, 2011 / Notices 49481 

5 In particular, the written request for confidential 

treatment that accompanies the comment must 

include the factual and legal basis for the request, 

and must identify the specific portions of the 

comment to be withheld from the public record. See 

FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c). 

procedure explained in FTC Rule 4.9(c), 

16 CFR 4.9(c).5 Your comment will be 

kept confidential only if the FTC 

General Counsel, in his or her sole 

discretion, grants your request in 

accordance with the law and the public 

interest. 

Postal mail addressed to the 

Commission is subject to delay due to 

heightened security screening. As a 

result, we encourage you to submit your 

comments online, or to send them to the 

Commission by courier or overnight 

service. To make sure that the 

Commission considers your online 

comment, you must file it at https:// 

ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/ 

franchiserulePRA by following the 

instructions on the Web-based form. If 

this Notice appears at http:// 

www.regulations.gov/#!home, you also 

may file a comment through that Web 

site. 

If you file your comment on paper, 

write ‘‘Franchise Rule, PRA Comment, 

FTC File No. P094400’’ on your 

comment and on the envelope, and mail 

or deliver it to the following address: 

Federal Trade Commission, Office of the 

Secretary, Room H–113 (Annex J), 600 

Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 

Washington, DC 20580. If possible, 

submit your paper comment to the 

Commission by courier or overnight 

service. 

Visit the Commission Web site at 

http://www.ftc.gov to read this Notice 

and the news release describing it. The 

FTC Act and other laws that the 

Commission administers permit the 

collection of public comments to 

consider and use in this proceeding as 

appropriate. The Commission will 

consider all timely and responsive 

public comments that it receives on or 

before October 11, 2011. You can find 

more information, including routine 

uses permitted by the Privacy Act, in 

the Commission’s privacy policy, at 

http://www.fte.gov/ftc/privacy.htm. 

Willard K. Tom, 

General Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2011–20111 Filed 8–9–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6750–01–M 

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

Granting of Request for Early 

Termination of the Waiting Period 

Under the Premerger Notification 

Rules 

Section 7A of the Clayton Act, 15 

U.S.C. 18a, as added by Title II of the 

Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust 

Improvements Act of 1976, requires 

persons contemplating certain mergers 

or acquisitions to give the Federal Trade 

Commission and the Assistant Attorney 

General advance notice and to wait 

designated periods before 

consummation of such plans. Section 

7A(b)(2) of the Act permits the agencies, 

in individual cases, to terminate this 

waiting period prior to its expiration 

and requires that notice of this action be 

published in the Federal Register. 

The following transactions were 

granted early termination—on the dates 

indicated—of the waiting period 

provided by law and the premerger 

notification rules. The listing for each 

transaction includes the transaction 

number and the parties to the 

transaction. The grants were made by 

the Federal Trade Commission and the 

Assistant Attorney General for the 

Antitrust Division of the Department of 

Justice. Neither agency intends to take 

any action with respect to these 

proposed acquisitions during the 

applicable waiting period. 

EARLY TERMINATIONS GRANTED

[July 1, 2011 thru July 29, 2011] 

07/01/2011 

20110962 ............................ G Terex Corporation; Demag Cranes AG; Terex Corporation. 

20111032 ............................ G Wicks Communications & Media Partners III, UP.; Scheduling.com. Inc.; Wicks Communications & Media 

Partners III, L.P. 

20111033 ............................ G Vector Capital IV International, L.P.; Gerber Scientific, Inc., Vector Capital IV International, L.P. 

20111044 ............................ G Elon Musk; SolarCity Corporation; Elon Musk. 

07/06/2011 

20111047 ............................ G Golden Gate Capital Opportunity Fund, L.P.; EPMC Holdco, LLC; Golden Gate Capital Opportunity Fund, 

L.P. 

07/08/2011 

20111045 ............................ G General Dynamics Corporation; Liberty Partners Holdings 38, L.L.C.; General Dynamics Corporation. 

20111048 ............................ G Carlyle Europe Partners III, L.P.; Gores Capital Partners II, L.P.; Carlyle Europe Partners III, L.P. 

07/11/2011 

20111052 ............................ G Genesis Energy, L.P.; Dennis A. Pasentine; Genesis Energy, L.P. 

20111053 ............................ G American Industrial Partners Capital Fund IV, L.P.; Weyerhaeuser Company; American Industrial Partners 

Capital Fund IV, L.P. 

20111055 ............................ G Forum Energy Technologies, Inc.; Carl A. Davis; Forum Energy Technologies, Inc. 

20111058 ............................ G Christopher Cline; Canadian National Railway Company; Christopher Cline. 

20111059 ............................ G OCP Trust; Accelerated Holdings Corporation; OCP Trust. 

20111060 ............................ G Cengage Learning Holdings I, Limited Partnership; National Geographic Society; Cengage Learning Holdings I, Limited Partnership. 

20111066 ............................ G PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP; PRTM Management Consultants, Inc.; PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. 

20111074 ............................ G Riverside Capital Appreciation Fund V, L.P.; MT Industries, Inc.; Riverside Capital Appreciation Fund V, L.P. 

20111076 ............................ G Aetna Inc.; Genworth Financial, Inc.; Aetna Inc. 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES