The Biden administration has taken a tougher stance on
mergers, filing some aggressive challenges. It had two court losses just last
week. Several challenges go before judges in the next few months, including the
Justice Department's fight against JetBlue's purchase of Spirit.
The 51 pages of guidelines by the Justice Department and
Federal Trade Commission described, without naming them, deals like Amazon's
purchases of video doorbell Ring in 2018, and said the antitrust agencies
should scrutinize them.
"A platform operator that is also a platform
participant has a conflict of interest from the incentive to give its own
products and services an advantage against other competitors participating on
the platform, harming competition," the draft guidelines say.
The draft also specifies that a merger should not eliminate
a potential entrant in a concentrated market or create a situation in which a
firm buys a company that provides inputs for the acquirer's competitors.
The Biden administration's antitrust enforcement has
highlighted labour issues, and the guidelines reflect that.
"Where a merger between employers may substantially
lessen competition for workers, that reduction in labour market competition may
lower wages or slow wage growth, worsen benefits or working conditions,"
the guidelines say.
The guidelines reflect how the FTC and Justice Department
currently enforce laws against illegal mergers, which would replace guidelines
from 2010 on companies buying competitors and 2020 guidelines on companies
merging with suppliers.
President Joe Biden urged that the guidelines be updated in a mid-2021 executive order. They will be open for comment for 60 days before they are finalized. © Reuters