New antitrust rules proposed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) could hold 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:merger and acquisition (M&A) deals to stricter norms when regulators evaluate them for violation of federal competition laws.

The regulators are seeking comments from stakeholders and the public for the draft rules rel🥃eased Wednesday over the next 60 days.

The proposed rules part of a regulatory overhaul designed to help the agencies adapt to the latest technological and market developments, and better assess how corporate mergers impact the modern economy. Almost two years ago, the FTC voted to scrap the previous set of guidelines implemented in 2020, citing regulatory flaws and an outdated framework.

"Simply put, competition today looks different than it did 50—or even 15—years ago." said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the DOJ’s Antitrust Division.

How Will The Proposed Rules Impact Mergers?

The new guidelines contain 13 points that will be used to eval🌸uate whether a merger should be blocked🌊 on anticompetitive grounds. Among other factors, a merger can be approved if it does not eliminate competition, increase concentration in already highly-concentrated markets, or create barriers to entry in the marketplace.

The guidelines specifically relate to vertical and horizontal mergers, and their impact on competition within industries. In a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:vertical merger, companies along different parts of the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:supply chain combine their operations. An example would be a computer hardware manufacturer, like Dell (DELL) or Lenovo, merging with a chipmaker like Qualcomm (QCOM) or Nvidia (NVDA).

In a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:horizontal merger, companies wiꦕth the s🃏ame or similar operations, such as two supermarket chains, combine.

"Open, competitive, resilient markets have been a bedrock of America’s economic success and dynamism throughout our nation’s history. Faithful and vigorous enforcement of the antitrust laws is key to maintaining that success," said FTC Chair Lina Khan.

FTC's Big Tech Crackdown Continues

The initiative reflects a tougher approach by the FTC and Biden administration in regulating big business, with the aim of preventing anticomp෴etitive mergers. Under Chair Lina Khan, the FTC has become more aggressive in going after anticompetitive practices, reversing decades of relatively lax antitrust enforcement by the agency.

Khan, who was appointed FTC chair in 2021, has aggressively gone after big tech companies such as Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT), Meta Platforms (META), and Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL). In December, the FTC under Chair Khan sued to 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:blocꦯk Microsoft’s $69 billion merger with Activision Blizzard (ATVI). The effort was unsuccessful, after a federal judge ruled against the agency last week, and the FTC subsequently 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:appealed the decision earlier this month.

Under Khan’s leadership, the agency has also gone after Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms, filing another unsuccessful lawsuit last year to block the purchase of a virtual reality company. Its approach against Amazon has been even more stringent, with the FTC filing a lawsuit last month that alleged the company enrolled customers in Amazon Prime without their consent.