1、Order Code RS22606February 15, 2007Mergers and Acquisitions: Primer onEconomic Considerations in the FTC and DOJ Horizontal Merger Approval ProcessEdward Vincent MurphyAnalyst in Financial Institutions Government and Finance DivisionSummaryThe Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice
2、 (DOJ) jointlyenforce antitrust laws that cover mergers and acquisitions of large companies. Initially,firms seeking a merger notify the agencies of their intent and provide information ontheir products and industries. Consumers, competitors, and other interested parties mayalso notify the enforceme
3、nt agencies of their concerns. If the enforcement agenciesdetermine a full review is warranted, they acquire more detailed information from themerging firms. Regulatory agencies focus on several economic criteria to evaluate a proposedmerger. First, they define the market according to likely substit
4、ution patterns byconsumers and calculate the industry concentration. A merger is less likely to beapproved if it would result in significant and non-transitory price changes (i.e. marketpower). Even if the merger would result in market power, the merger may be approvedif the market is contestable, t
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