Practising Law Institute (PLI) Webinar – New Merger Guidelines: A Sea Change or Riding the Same Wave?
Event summary
The new Merger Guidelines, jointly issued by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in December 2023, reflect many of the aggressive and novel theories of harm that senior officials at the agencies have enunciated in speeches and pursued during the Biden administration through enforcement actions.
The new guidelines replace the Horizontal Merger Guidelines issued by the Obama administration in 2010 and the Vertical Merger Guidelines issued by the Trump administration in 2020. It remains to be seen whether the new guidelines will be followed by courts or have a lasting impact.
Cooley partners Megan Browdie and Howard Morse discussed the new Merger Guidelines and what they mean for dealmakers, including:
- A summary of the new Merger Guidelines and critical changes adopted by the guidelines.
- How the theories enunciated in the new guidelines have played out in recent enforcement actions.
- What dealmakers should take away from the new guidelines.
For more information, please email Yena Lee.
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