CANCELED: Public Workshop Draft Vertical Merger Guidelines

THIS EVENT IS CANCELED

The workshop will be the second in a two-part series hosted together with the Department of Justice. The two workshops will allow for a dynamic discussion about the proposed guidelines to complement the written public comments about the proposed guidelines that were submitted to the agencies.

The proposed guidelines describe how the federal antitrust agencies review vertical mergers to evaluate whether they violate antitrust law. Vertical mergers combine two or more companies that operate at different levels of the supply chain. The proposed guidelines outline the agencies’ principal analytical techniques, practices, and enforcement policy for vertical mergers. The FTC and the Department of Justice cooperated closely in preparing the proposed guidelines, which reflect the agencies’ significant experience in analyzing vertical mergers. The guidelines are intended to assist the business community and antitrust practitioners by providing transparency about the agencies’ antitrust enforcement practices with respect to vertical mergers.

The agencies will consider both public comments and workshop discussions before issuing final vertical merger guidelines. 

THIS EVENT IS CANCELED