The US DoJ issues a revised policy guide to merger remedies

On September 3, 2020, the Antitrust Division of the DOJ issued a revised Policy Guide to Merger Remedies, following shortly after it announced a reorganization of its civil enforcement to create an Office of Decree Enforcement and Compliance. The Policy Guide to Merger Remedies largely codifies a trend towards strengthening of the Division’s preference for structural remedies—such as divestitures—over conduct remedies—such as firewalls. This revision now expressly states that “[s]tructural remedies are strongly preferred in horizontal and vertical merger cases because they are clean and certain, effective, and avoid ongoing government