A Practical Guide to Using the As-Efficient-Competitor (AEC) Test to Manage and Monitor Antitrust Risk
Antitrust Report, December 2023
Analysis Group Vice Presidents Hitesh Makhija and Maria Eugenia Garibotti, along with coauthor Julian Manasse-Boetani (Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher), have published an article exploring the as-efficient-competitor (AEC) test’s applications in monitoring antitrust risk. The AEC test is a price-cost test that often is used by courts and private parties to evaluate whether discounts offered by leading firms could foreclose smaller rivals and lead to claims of anticompetitive tying and exclusive dealing.
The authors explore methodologies which may expand the applicability of the test and discuss the test’s limitations in the context of a hypothetical example. The analysis highlights potential implications for US courts in their determinations of exclusionary conduct, as well as provides relevant questions for leading firms and their smaller rivals as they aim to mitigate antitrust risk.
The article, “A Practical Guide to Using the As-Efficient-Competitor (AEC) Test to Manage and Monitor Antitrust Risk,” was published in Antitrust Report.
Authors
Makhija HR, Manasse-Boetani J, Garibotti ME