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ARTICLE · 09 DECEMBER 2020

DOJ Antitrust Head Endorses Tightened Merger Laws

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On Tuesday, December 1, Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Makan Delrahim expressed support for tightening restrictions with respect to merger laws for dominant companies.

United StatesAntitrust/Competition Law
Ed Pagano
Ed Pagano
Haidee Schwartz
Haidee Schwartz
Casey C. Higgins
Casey C. Higgins
Thomas H. Yang
Thomas H. Yang
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Taylor Daly
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On Tuesday, December 1, Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Makan Delrahim expressed support for tightening restrictions with respect to merger laws for dominant companies.

Section 7 of the Clayton Act of 1914 prohibits any transaction where "the effect of such acquisition may be substantially to lessen competition, or to tend to create a monopoly." While enforcers currently must demonstrate that a merger would lead to competitive harm in the form of increased prices, lower output or diminished quality or innovation, Assistant Attorney General Delrahim, speaking on a panel at Fortune's Brainstorm Tech conference, voiced support for requiring companies that control more than 50 percent of a market to prove that a merger will improve competition, shifting the burden to dominant companies and marking a significant change from current antitrust law.

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