The corporate deal-making boom last year was one for the record books. The harder part: Winning the blessing of emboldened antitrust officials in the Obama administration’s last year.
U.S. enforcers have turned increasingly aggressive in their mission to protect competition between companies -- the latest example being the Justice Department’s lawsuit Wednesday to block Halliburton Co.’s takeover of rival oil-services company Baker Hughes Inc. Antitrust officials are also in court this week to block a merger between Staples Inc. and Office Depot Inc.
