Trump Administration Open To Divestiture Remedies

The FTC and DOJ under President Trump have each recently approved divestiture remedies for potentially anticompetitive mergers, signaling a significant departure from the practice of the Biden administration, which viewed divestiture remedies with intense skepticism.

On May 28, 2025, the FTC entered a proposed consent agreement that would order Synopsys, Inc. and Ansys Inc to divest assets in connection with Synopsys's proposed $35 billion acquisition of Ansys. According to the FTC, the two companies are major competitors in the markets for optical software tools, photonic software tools, and RTL power consumption analysis tools. The FTC alleged that the acquisition would eliminate direct competition between the companies in these markets, leading to higher prices and reduced innovation. Rather than attempt to block the transaction entirely, the FTC's proposed order would require the divesture of Synopsys's optical and photonic software products and Ansys's