In September 2021, the five-member Federal Trade Commission voted 3-2 along party lines to withdraw its support for the Vertical Merger Guidelines [1] (“Guidelines”) and related FTC commentary on vertical merger enforcement. [2] At the same time—indeed, only hours later on the same day—the acting head of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice issued a statement indicating that the Guidelines “remain in place” at the DOJ while the agency conducts a “careful review” of its process for making enforcement decisions. [3] What a difference a year makes. The Guidelines had been jointly adopted by the FTC and the DOJ in mid-2020, marking the first revision in more than 35 years and following the DOJ’s failed attempt to block AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner. [4] At that time,
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The US FTC withdraws its new vertical merger guidelines after just a year
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