US looks at takeover guidelines shake-up

The Department of Justice is apparently considering a shake-up of the guidelines used in approving takeovers of US companies, pointing to a possible shift in antitrust policy under the Obama Administration.

The DoJ is considering revising the so-called merger remedies guidelines to reflect developments in antitrust practice. The update is expected to include a greater discussion of behavioral or conduct remedies, which impose changes on how a business operates on an ongoing basis, they added. US antitrust policy has long had a strong preference for structural solutions, such as the sale of parts of a business. Both the DoJ and the Federal Trade Commission have tended to avoid behavioral remedies, in part because of the manpower required to enforce such agreements. But some antitrust experts argue that the DoJ, under the leadership of Christine Varney, has become more creative in its application of behavioral remedies.