The White House on Tuesday praised the Justice Department’s successful effort to stop a $30 billion deal that would have created the world’s biggest insurance broker, saying the agency’s work was “robust enforcement of the antitrust laws.”
Aon and Willis Towers Watson called off their merger on Monday, saying U.S. regulators’ objections created unacceptable delay and uncertainty. The Justice Department had filed a lawsuit to stop it.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki praised the Justice Department, saying its effort was “what the president was talking about when he called for more robust enforcement of the antitrust laws.”
President Joe Biden has taken more interest in antitrust than most presidents, and named one progressive antitrust expert to work in the White House and others to head the Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.
He also signed a sweeping competition executive order urging agencies to crack down on anti-competitive practices in sectors ranging from agriculture to pharmaceuticals and labor. read more
Rising prices have struck areas as diverse as lumber, labor, gasoline and fast food, a politically sensitive issue for an administration trying to engineer a recovery from the -19 recession. It has positioned antitrust policies as one tool to contain inflation.
Aon declined to comment on Psaki’s statements but referred to a previous statement in which it said that the Justice Department’s challenge was “in contrast” to antitrust enforcers elsewhere. “The DOJ’s (Justice Department’s) perspective demonstrates a misunderstanding of the marketplace and our combination was blocked by poor timing and factors ultimately outside our control,” the company said in a public statement this week.
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Kenya’s Competition Authority Proposes Tougher Regulations on Big Tech
May 30, 2024 by
CPI
KKR Secures EU Antitrust Approval for $24 Billion Acquisition of Telecom Italia’s Fixed-Line Network
May 30, 2024 by
CPI
European Court Sides with Tech Giants in Italian Regulatory Dispute
May 30, 2024 by
CPI
US Steel and Nippon Steel Secure International Approvals for $14.9B Merger
May 30, 2024 by
CPI
EU Watchdog Mandates Boardroom Accountability for AI in Banks
May 30, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Merger Guidelines Retrospective
May 21, 2024 by
CPI
Mergers of Complements
May 21, 2024 by
CPI
Personality Traits, Private Equity, and Merger Analysis
May 21, 2024 by
CPI
The 2023 Merger Guidelines: Lessons in the Importance of Incipiency, Modern Economics, and Monopsony
May 21, 2024 by
CPI
The 2023 Merger Guidelines: Sharpening Merger Analysis
May 21, 2024 by
CPI