Deals
U.S. Proposes Overhaul of Antitrust Rules for Vertical Mergers
- DOJ, FTC back new criteria for evaluating vertical deals
- Proposal draws criticism from Democratic members of FTC
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission headquarters stands in Washington, D.C., U.S.
Photographer: Andrew Harrer/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
U.S. antitrust enforcers are proposing new guidelines for determining whether to approve mergers that combine companies that don’t compete with one another but operate in the same supply chain.
The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission announced criteria for how they would evaluate so-called vertical mergers in the future. If finalized, the guidelines would replace rules that haven’t formally been updated since 1984 despite new thinking about how such deals affect competition.