IN THIS FEBRUARY 2024 ISSUE -

UNITED STATES -

New Merger Guidelines Released -

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and US Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) issued their updated Merger Guidelines on December 18, 2023. The new guidelines include several potential enforcement theories from the prior guidelines but also introduce new concepts not addressed in prior versions. A theme of the new guidelines is increased scrutiny on a variety of different transaction types, including (1) mergers between close competitors, even if the parties compete in a broad market, (2) mergers involving a potential entrant, (3) transactions in industries that have experienced or are experiencing significant consolidation, and (4) vertical transactions. The Merger Guidelines are not the law, but they do signal a focus on an enforcement-oriented approach consistent with trends seen lately.