Description

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.

Original source

Scope

Policy Area
Competition
Policy Instrument
Merger control regulation
Regulated Economic Activity
cross-cutting
Implementation Level
national
Government Branch
executive
Government Body
competition authority

Complete timeline of this policy change

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2022-01-18
in consultation

On 18 January 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Di…

2022-03-21
processing consultation

On 21 March 2022, the public consultation regarding the impact of mergers on competition closed. On…

2023-07-19
in consultation

On 19 July 2023, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released…

2023-09-18
processing consultation

On 18 September 2023, the public consultation closes on the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the …

2023-12-18
adopted

On 18 December 2023, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) adop…