1 Corporate Acquisitions and Mergers § 8.01

Summary

A large percentage of mergers that raise antitrust problems are mergers of competitors. Mergers of competitors are not necessarily anticompetitive, and even mergers of major competitors are lawful if they do not threaten harm to competition. Harm to competition is most often seen through the eyes (and interests) of consumers and other buyers, but—especially since adjustments during the Biden administration—may also be seen through the eyes of suppliers including workers.

This chapter examines the market effect of mergers of competitors, i.e., whether the merger is anticompetitive. The chapter assumes that the relevant market already has been properly defined.1

The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the Federal Trade Commission issued influential 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines in 2010. These are superseded by the all-merger guidelines of 2023. Both documents remain relevant and should be consulted. The 2023 guidelines are more ...