Big Law

DOJ and FTC Announce New Rules for Merger Review to Reflect a Digital Economy

The Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice said Wednesday that their new focus when evaluating mergers will include the impact a deal will have on competition for workers along with how a series of acquisitions, rather than one-offs, could result in harmful effects on the market.

The new guidelines, currently in draft form, encapsulate the agencies’ push to keep pace with the digital age and a changing market. The proposed rules apply to both vertical and horizontal mergers. Almost two years ago, the FTC voted to withdraw the previous version of the vertical merger guidelines released in 2020, citing flaws.

A vertical merger is a transaction between two businesses that are often in different parts of the supply chain in an industry, according to the FTC. Horizontal mergers, by contrast, involve companies that compete or are in a similar part of the market.

Read the source article at CNBC

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