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ARTICLE · 07 FEBRUARY 2022

Looking Ahead To Tougher Merger Guidelines And Enforcement

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Although the number of corporate mergers surged during President Biden's first year in office, all signs point to a tougher regulatory environment for deals going forward.

United StatesAntitrust/Competition Law
Michael Scarborough
Michael Scarborough
Skyler Hicks
Skyler Hicks
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Although the number of corporate mergers surged during President Biden's first year in office, all signs point to a tougher regulatory environment for deals going forward.

In 2021, $5.8 trillion changed hands as a result of corporate mergers across the globe.1 This 64 percent increase over 2020 far surpassed the previous annual record,2 and now the Biden Administration appears to be taking steps toward fulfilling the President's goal of ramping up antitrust enforcement.3 One such measure includes taking a more critical approach when evaluating proposed mergers, and federal agencies have already filed several high-profile investigations.4

On January 18, the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division jointly announced plans to "modernize federal merger guidelines to better detect and prevent illegal, anticompetitive deals."5 These are expected to overhaul both the 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines and the 2020 Vertical Merger

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