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By Rosa Baum, Emily Garnett, Allen Grunes, David Meschke from U.S. law firm Brownstein LLP
Last week, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) proposed 13 new federal guidelines for mergers and acquisitions-the first comprehensive update to the guidelines in over a decade and the latest installment in the federal government's efforts to curb anti-competitive behavior, including the increasingly scrutinized behavior of actors in digital markets. The draft guidelines touch on an array of concerns: private equity roll-ups, labor markets, competitive bottlenecks, and access to a rival's data, to name just a few. While the proposed guidelines will not be formally effective for a few more months, they already reflect current enforcement policies. Critics of the proposed guidelines argue the guidelines are an effort to move the country back in time and rely on outdated case law that has not kept pace with evolving technologies and market structures. If ultimately adopted, the proposed guidelines will have significant implications especially relevant to Big Tech and private equity.
Background
New merger guidelines are released periodically. The FTC and DOJ's Antitrust Division review federal merger guidelines with some regularity to ensure the guidelines align with the shifting realities of the modern economy, as the guidelines are meant to be a contemporary interpretation of existing law and a window into how the antitrust ag...................... To view our full article Click here
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