Anti-trust State of Play

17 Jul Anti-trust State of Play

Whether it is the focus on “big tech” and the market share controlled by the Meta’s and Alphabet’s of the world, or the “too big to fail” mega-bank argument that has been an ongoing discussion in Washington since 2008, the focus on antitrust continues to grow. Throughout his initial campaign for the White House, President Biden made it a part of his platform to focus on consolidation and mega-mergers with a renewed focus on antitrust enforcement. This has proven to be a campaign promise that the President continues to act on, with key officials in his Administration working to implement his “whole-of-government” approach to antitrust enforcement.

While antitrust may not be on the front page every day, material changes are being made to the review processes and the more aggressive enforcement posture must be a consideration in all contemplated deals. It now seems that antitrust can be intertwined with politics, national security, and even major league sports… Below, we review the Administration’s work on antitrust from the perspective of key enforcement actions, policy changes related to bank mergers, Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) reform, and more.