DOJ And FTC Seek Information On New, Stricter Merger Guidelines

On January 18, 2022, the Department of Justice ("DOJ") and the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") announced a comprehensive review - and in fact a revision - of the horizontal and vertical merger guidelines with the apparent goal of finding more mergers anticompetitive. Indeed, FTC Chair Lina Khan recently professed "to act with a 'fierce sense of urgency' to police competition in the economy and reverse what she described as a pattern of inaction by previous antitrust enforcers."¹

The DOJ and FTC are seeking public comment on mergers and their competitive effects through a request for information ("RFI") to the general public that, they say, will inform the guidelines' revision.² Public comments are due by March 21, 2022.