The US FTC and DoJ launch a joint public inquiry into the agencies’ horizontal and vertical merger guidelines to decipher whether the guidelines properly implement the statutory ban on transactions that may substantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly

Tuesday, January 18th, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the U.S. Justice Department’s Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) launched a joint public inquiry regarding the agencies’ horizontal and vertical merger guidelines. As part of this inquiry, the agencies are soliciting public comment via a Request for Information (“RFI”) on a wide range of topics that could lead to significant changes in the merger guidelines and increased scrutiny of a broad array of transactions. The agencies’ inquiry will address numerous themes of the merger guidelines including those highlighted below. Review Includes Vertical and Horizontal Merger Guidelines Chair Khan and Assistant Attorney General Kanter announced that the review will focus on whether the merger guidelines properly