Bank employees involved in investments and transactional lawyers, accustomed to the regulatory hurdles of mergers, face an unprecedented challenge from the President of the United States. Joe Biden. The country’s Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have tried to block 22 mergers since Biden took office last January, according to a Reuters review. That’s more than the number of antitrust cases in the first two years of former President Barack Obama’s first term and twice as many as in the first two years of Donald Trump’s presidency, Reuters analysis shows. While decades of comprehensive data are not available, Joel Krosberg, an antitrust attorney at McDermott, Will & Emery, said that looking back on his 25-year career, more merger cases are now being submitted for antitrust clearance than ever before. legislation. It is worth noting that the US Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission managed to stop 15 of the 22 aforementioned deals, many without litigation, as the companies involved reneged on and pulled out of their agreement.

Most recently, they have lost four attempts to block the mergers in court, although two of them are going to be appealed. These losses have not affected the willingness of regulators to question mergers. In particular, the two Joe Biden appointees, FTC Chair Lina Han Kang and Justice Department Antitrust Director Jonathan Kander, are pushing this avenue, arguing that lobbying has gone too far and it’s hurting both consumers and workers in an era of uncontrolled inflation. “What’s definitely clear about this group, compared to their predecessors, is that they’re not haunted by the possibility of losing these cases,” said William Kovacic, former FTC chairman and professor of antitrust policy at George Washington University School of Law. . Kanter, speaking to US lawmakers in September, said his department “will not fall behind in considering worthy cases.” In an August letter, Kahn told Senator Elizabeth Warren that she believes the sale of the assets as part of the merger to fix serious competition problems falls short of her goal.

The biggest deal currently being targeted is Microsoft’s $69 billion bid to acquire Activision Blizzard, the company that makes video games like Call of Duty. Finally, the US Federal Trade Commission reportedly sued to block it, arguing that it would allow the Microsoft Xbox to gain exclusive access to Activision games, thus placing it in the digital gaming market to dominate it. Microsoft countered that the deal would benefit both gamers and gaming companies.