Article by Analysis Group Consultants in ABA Publication Evaluates Merger Review Under the Biden Administration
December 21, 2023
For their article “Antitrust Mergers and Regulatory Uncertainty,” Analysis Group Vice President Marissa Ginn and Managers Robert Calzaretta and Marcello Santana, along with Professor D. Daniel Sokol (USC Gould School of Law and Marshall School of Business), surveyed antitrust practitioners to gain insight on antitrust merger enforcement under the Biden administration. The article aims to improve practitioners’ understanding of what to expect when interacting with the two US regulatory agencies overseeing mergers – the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) – so that they can better assess antitrust risk when evaluating prospective mergers and providing advice to merging parties.
The authors conducted a quantitative online survey and qualitative interviews with practitioners from top antitrust law firms, in-house counsel, economists, and other consultants to explore how changes in the Biden administration’s antitrust agenda have affected merger review, investments, decision making, and counsel. The article covers a range of topics, including the current state of M&A activity in the US, perceptions of transparency and fairness in enforcement processes, increased uncertainty and risk associated with merger review, and the impact that changes in antitrust enforcement have made on overall deal flow.
The article was originally published on SSRN and summarized on the Columbia Law School’s Blue Sky Blog. For its publication in the American Bar Association (ABA) publication The Business Lawyer, it was updated to include new information and insights from 2022 and 2023.
Read the CLS Blue Sky Blog summary