Dealmakers Hail Easing of New Antitrust Review Rule for Mergers

The Biden Administration’s decision to scale back new merger review requirements is a win for corporate law firms, who warned the changes would add unnecessary costs to deals.

The Justice Department signaled Wednesday that its revamp of the Hart-Scott-Rodino filing notification program for companies seeking to merge will be less extensive than earlier proposed. The finalized rule generally will place smaller burdens on merging parties, likely meaning fewer disclosure requirements, the agency said.

The move follows push back from law firms like Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, the powerful mergers and acquisitions shop, as well as Dechert, Foley & Lardner, ...