Ever since the last presidential election, there has been much talk of increased governmental antitrust enforcement. Despite several signs this is indeed occurring, there is not much objective evidence in the arena of mergers and acquisitions. That is now changing rapidly, given initiatives underway at the federal antitrust enforcement agencies with potentially far-reaching impact, one of which is the proposed revision of the Horizontal Merger Guidelines. Consistent with the agencies’ desire to educate businesses and the courts, this article will summarize for non-antitrust specialists the proposed changes and their likely impact on antitrust enforcement going forward.
Horizontal Merger Guidelines
On April 20, 2010, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) unveiled for public comment their proposed revisions to the Horizontal Merger Guidelines,1 positing the agencies’ jointly agreed enforcement policy and underlying analytical framework for transactions between competitors. On May 6, 2010, the commission announced that at the request of several organizations, the deadline for public comment has been extended through June 4, 2010.
