Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan voiced her support of the FTC updating its regulatory framework regarding Mergers and acquisitions to suit today's economy. Her remarks can be found in a July 19th FTC press release.
“Open, competitive, resilient markets have been a bedrock of America’s economic success and dynamism throughout our nation’s history. Faithful and vigorous enforcement of the antitrust laws is key to maintaining that success... With these draft Merger Guidelines, we are updating our enforcement manual to reflect the realities of how firms do business in the modern economy. Informed by thousands of 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,” Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan said.
According to a press release issued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on July 19, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FTC are publicizing a draft of a revised set of Merger Guidelines. These guidelines provide insight into how these entities scrutinize mergers and acquisitions in order to verify they are in line with antitrust laws. The purpose of this revision is to update the guidelines to better fit today's economy, and both organizations are inviting the public to examine the revision and contribute their views during a public commentary period spanning 60 days.
According to the press release, the guidelines have been revised multiple times by the agencies after they were initially introduced in 1968. In January 2022, states the release, the agencies made an announcement about a comprehensive effort to assess possible modifications and updates to the “Horizontal Merger Guidelines” (published in 2010) and the “Vertical Merger Guidelines” (published in 2020). After a period of public comments, over 5,000 individuals from various backgrounds offered input. Additionally, reports the release, the agencies organized several “listening sessions” that shed light on the potential negative impact of mergers and acquisitions on markets across a wide range of industries.
In creating this revision, the release states that the agencies emphasized three goals: that the guidelines should always be reflective of the law; that they are clear and easy to access, and that they effectively update previous regulations and frameworks to best fit today's economy. Reportedly, a vote of 3-0 from the Commission approved the revision draft.
