DOJ’s New “expedited Consideration” Merger Review Framework: Potential Benefits And Concerns

On July 23, 2026, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it was resuming “targeted” Second Request investigations and published a new Model Timing Agreement (MTA). The MTA offers merging parties an optional “Expedited Consideration” process based on an initial “Priority Production” of documents and information. As seen from a recently announced termination of a DOJ investigation, DOJ intends for the Expedited Consideration process to result in shorter and more focused reviews. The devil will be in the details: Accepting the terms of the MTA may reduce parties’ costs and permit a swifter resolution of merger investigations. However, where timing agreement negotiations drag out or when DOJ’s concerns are not resolved by the Expedited Consideration, the parties may end up worse off, having lost compliance time and surrendered leverage.