U.S. Antitrust Agency Merger Enforcement Roundup And Commentary

FTC Alleges Harm to Innovation Competition and Sets Aside Two Controversial Merger Settlements; DOJ Accepts a Weakened Competitor Defense in One Merger and Accepts Divestitures in Another

The Trump Administration continues to differentiate its merger enforcement policy from the Biden Administration's, largely but not entirely suggesting a more balanced evaluation of mergers and greater acceptance of divestitures to address competitive concerns. In the past few months:

• The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”) challenged a proposed combination of Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (“Edwards”) and JenaValve Technology (“JenaValve”), two medical device companies, neither of which has yet commercialized a product in the alleged “overlapping” market.