Although the antitrust agencies have new leadership after
Trump's inauguration on January 20, the end of 2016 continued
the agencies' aggressive enforcement actions. The antitrust
agencies closed out 2016 by challenging several notable mergers and
acquisitions, with the DOJ in court challenging three different
deals simultaneously. Both the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and
US Department of Justice (DOJ) finalized decisions in several
ongoing investigations in a variety of industries before the end of
the Obama administration. The regulators approved at least six
mergers with consent orders, of which five required significant
divestitures. The agencies required a buyer upfront in all five
transactions that required significant divestitures. DOJ approved
one deal without a consent order in the event management software
platform industry, which is notable given pre-election reports
speculating DOJ could sue to block the transaction.
