Possible Revision Of The Horizontal Merger Guidelines

On Tuesday, September 22, 2009, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission announced that they are planning to hold workshops with a view toward modifying or amending the agencies' current Merger Guidelines. We do not believe that this presages any major change in current antitrust law enforcement policies.

The government has issued Merger Guidelines to provide guidance to the business community and antitrust bar for more than 40 years, beginning in 1968. There were major modifications and additions in 1982, 1992, and 1997. The last substantial revision in 1992 stated that the Merger Guidelines would be revised from time to time. As FTC Chair Jon Liebowitz publicly stated on the day of the announcement, "We think the time has come to do that."