For the first time since the Department of Justice Antitrust
Division (DOJ) published non-horizontal merger guidelines in 1984, the
DOJ and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued updated Vertical Merger Guidelines to explain
how the antitrust agencies analyze vertical mergers. The guidelines
were published in draft on January 10, 2020, and are now open for a
30-day public comment period.
WHAT HAPPENED:
The DOJ and FTC released draft guidelines outlining the
principal analytical techniques, practices and enforcement policies
the antitrust agencies will use to analyze vertical mergers and
acquisitions. Vertical mergers combine firms or assets that operate
at different stages of the same supply chain. For example, vertical
mergers or acquisitions could combine companies such as:
