Showing archive for: “Clayton Act”
Reducing Merger Uncertainty Could Help the American Economy
The second Trump administration has been signaling a move away from the Biden administration’s policy of actively discouraging mergers. This change in direction could benefit the U.S. economy. But some merger uncertainty remains, rooted in the administration’s decision to retain 2023 merger guidelines. Targeted revisions to those guidelines—or, at the very least, public pronouncements designed ... Reducing Merger Uncertainty Could Help the American Economy
M&A Enforcement Easing Under the Trump Administration
The federal antitrust agencies appear to be easing up on merger enforcement, ditching a Biden administration policy of discouraging mergers. This change in direction could promote enhanced American innovation and economic growth. M&A Economic Benefits Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) generate various major economic benefits: They reallocate badly managed commercial assets to higher-valued uses, raising business ... M&A Enforcement Easing Under the Trump Administration
New State Merger-Review Laws Could Harm US Economy
Various states are ramping up their review of proposed mergers and acquisitions. Both Washington and Colorado have enacted new pre-merger notification statutes that will take effect this summer, and other states have introduced or are considering similar legislation. These changes could impose major new costs on potential merging parties and harm the U.S. economy. In ... New State Merger-Review Laws Could Harm US Economy
The Charter-Cox Merger Should Sail Through, But Will It?
Charter Communications Inc. and Cox Communications Inc. have announced a plan to merge in a $34.5 billion deal. The transaction would create the nation’s largest cable operator, surpassing Comcast, with approximately 38 million subscribers across 46 states. Predictably, the proposal triggered concerns about cable-industry consolidation. Yet the reflexive anxiety about “big cable getting bigger” misses ... The Charter-Cox Merger Should Sail Through, But Will It?
Antitrust Applies to Unions as Well as to Employers
The Trump administration has signaled its interest in applying antitrust law to protect workers from harm. Business conduct that distorts competition in labor markets is, indeed, covered by the antitrust laws, and various labor-related antitrust-enforcement initiatives have been undertaken in recent years. In contrast, labor-union collective bargaining to improve wages and conditions of employment is ... Antitrust Applies to Unions as Well as to Employers
The FTC’s Zombie Antitrust Action Against Meta Continues to Lurch Forward
FTC v. Meta Platforms Inc. has gone to court, and trial is just underway in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleges that Meta is currently, in 2025, engaged in monopolization in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act by dint of having acquired Instagram ... The FTC’s Zombie Antitrust Action Against Meta Continues to Lurch Forward
Antitrust at the Agencies: Private Anticompetitive Censorship Edition
A Feb. 20 press release from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announces “Federal Trade Commission Launches Inquiry on Tech Censorship.” That is, “a public inquiry to better understand how technology platforms deny or degrade users’ access to services based on the content of their speech or affiliations, and how this conduct may have violated the ... Antitrust at the Agencies: Private Anticompetitive Censorship Edition
The FTC Shouldn’t Turn Back the Clock on Merger Analysis
In a recent memo to staff of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Chairman Andrew Ferguson explained that they should continue using the merger guidelines that the FTC and U.S. Justice Department Antitrust Division adopted jointly in 2023. Ferguson’s memo noted that “the clear lesson of history is that we should prize stability” in merger policy. ... The FTC Shouldn’t Turn Back the Clock on Merger Analysis
The FTC Should Consider Ditching Antitrust Cases that Harm American Consumers
At the tail end of the Biden administration, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) authorized two Robinson-Patman Act (RPA) lawsuits—one each dealing with liquor and soft-drink distribution discounts—that, if pursued, are likely to harm American consumers while wasting scarce government prosecutorial resources. The new FTC leadership may wish to consider withdrawing these cases and deemphasizing the ... The FTC Should Consider Ditching Antitrust Cases that Harm American Consumers
Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: Rounding up the Roundups
It’s Not All About Price, Except When We Say So I don’t know if this is the end of an era, the end of an error, a bit of both, or something far more complicated than that, but let’s start with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Melissa Holyoak’s dissent in In the Matter of Southern ... Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: Rounding up the Roundups
Why Trump May Consolidate Federal Antitrust Enforcement
President-elect Donald Trump’s new “Department of Government Efficiency” has been tasked with providing advice and guidance on reducing government waste and restructuring federal agencies. One act of restructuring that may warrant consideration would involve consolidating all federal antitrust enforcement within the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ). There are strong arguments that this would reduce waste. In addition, ... Why Trump May Consolidate Federal Antitrust Enforcement
Why It May Be Time to Consider a Merger Policy Reset in 2025
The Biden administration’s federal antitrust regulators—the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)—have been widely perceived as actively discouraging mergers and acquisitions. This reflects the rejection of a longstanding bipartisan understanding that government would only oppose proposed M&A transactions that are likely to harm competition. The Biden approach arguably threatens to harm the ... Why It May Be Time to Consider a Merger Policy Reset in 2025
