US: House Committee balances FTC, DOJ merger review powers

The House Judiciary Committee has reportedly passed legislation to eliminate certain discrepancies between merger reviews conducted by the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice.

Reports say the committee passed the legislation on September 10. The proposed rules would streamline merger reviews and various other antitrust procedures that, under current law, differ between whether the DOJ or FTC is conducting the review.

Reports say the legislation would amend the Clayton Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act to provide the watchdogs with consistent processes when moving to block a merger. Officials are looking to extend the same powers held by the DOJ to the FTC.

The bill also eliminates the FTC’s power to initiate an administrative proceeding to challenge a merger; that power would be preserved in other contexts, but in regards to a merger the FTC would need to file a complaint in federal district court to block a deal, the same process currently followed by the DOJ.

Full content: JDSupra

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