United States of America: Adopted FTC and DOJ Merger Guidelines

On 18 December 2023, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) adopted the Revised US Draft Merger Guidelines. The Guidelines build upon and expand previous frameworks, providing clarity on the assessment of mergers under antitrust laws. The Guidelines include 11 principles that the agencies may apply to determine if a merger would negatively impact competition and if the impact might be justifiable. Additionally, the revised version includes information on mergers involving multi-sided platforms, specifying that such mergers can lead to competitive issues. The Guidelines note that when assessing a case involving multi-sided platforms, the agencies will analyse the competition between platforms, competition on a platform, and competition to displace the platform.