DOJ Describes Its Approach to Merger Remedies
By Sandeep Vaheesan
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division issued
an updated version of its Policy Guide to Merger Remedies. This is
a policy statement used by attorneys within the Antitrust Division
to help guide them regarding the appropriate remedy in a merger
investigation. As stated in the Policy Guide, the underlying
purpose of all merger remedies is to preserve the level of
competition that existed before the merger.
In general, the DOJ will pursue two basic types of remedies in
merger cases. In horizontal mergers between actual or potential
competitors, the DOJ will typically require structural remedies,
such as requiring the merging parties to divest assets or entire
business divisions to a third party. Conduct remedies, which
require behavioral obligations or restrictions on the merged
entities, are more likely to be used in vertical mergers, that
involve the combination of parties with an
