Failed Deals Climb as Antitrust Enforcers Push Aggressive Agenda

Firms attracting antitrust scrutiny are abandoning deals at their highest clip in years, as the Biden administration’s enforcers appear to make good on a policy pushing for more lawsuits and fewer settlements.

Six significant merger inquiries during the first half of 2024 ended with the Federal Trade Commission or Department of Justice saying the parties nixed a proposed transaction, a figure that exceeds yearly totals from the previous decade, according to a report from the law firm Dechert LLP.

The surge in abandonments coincides with a decline in settlements and negotiated fixes, once a hallmark of antitrust enforcement. While the ...