FTC to Consider Restoring Prior Approval, Notice in Merger Cases

The Federal Trade Commission plans to review at its next meeting whether to restore a policy that requires certain companies that had merger-related settlements with the agency to notify it about future acquisitions.

If the FTC votes to repeal the 1995 policy statement on prior notice and prior approval provisions, the move would lead to greater agency review of future actions of companies the FTC finds to have behaved anti-competitively.

The planned vote at the July 21 meeting would follow FTC Chair Lina Khan’s sparring with Big Tech and President Joe Biden’s executive order addressing competition across numerous industries. ...