The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice released a draft update to merger guidelines, which they use to determine merger and acquisition deals’ compliance with antitrust laws, for public comment.
The proposed update has been in the works since early 2022 when the agencies launched a joint public inquiry into ways that federal regulators could better monitor a surge in merger filings and multi-industry market concentration.
“With these draft Merger Guidelines, we are updating our enforcement manual to reflect the realities of how firms do business in the modern economy,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said. “Informed by [more than 5,000] public comments—spanning healthcare workers, farmers, patient advocates, musicians, and entrepreneurs—these guidelines contain critical updates while ensuring fidelity to the mandate Congress has given us and the legal precedent on the books.”
The changes outlined in the draft would be the third update to FTC and DOJ’s Merger Guidelines during the 21st century. Prior updates included guidelines for horizontal mergers issued in 2010 and guidelines on vertical mergers issued in 2020, Fierce Healthcare reports. Read more.
