The DOJ’s Merger Guidelines

Here is each guideline from the DOJ’s recently finalized (and highly anticipated) Final 2023 Merger Guidelines: 

• Guideline 1: Mergers Raise a Presumption of Illegality When They Significantly Increase Concentration in a Highly Concentrated Market.

• Guideline 2: Mergers Can Violate the Law When They Eliminate Substantial Competition Between Firms.

• Guideline 3: Mergers Can Violate the Law When They Increase the Risk of Coordination.

• Guideline 4: Mergers Can Violate the Law When They Eliminate a Potential Entrant in a Concentrated Market.

• Guideline 5: Mergers Can Violate the Law When They Create a Firm That May Limit Access to Products or Services That Its Rivals Use to Compete.

• Guideline 6: Mergers Can Violate the Law When They Entrench or Extend a Dominant Position.

• Guideline 7: When an Industry Undergoes a Trend Toward Consolidation, the Agencies Consider Whether It Increases the Risk a Merger May Substantially Lessen Competition or Tend to Create a Monopoly.

• Guideline 8: When a Merger is Part of a Series of Multiple Acquisitions, the Agencies May Examine the Whole Series.

• Guideline 9: When a Merger Involves a Multi-Sided Platform, the Agencies Examine Competition Between Platforms, on a Platform, or to Displace a Platform.

• Guideline 10: When a Merger Involves Competing Buyers, the Agencies Examine Whether It May Substantially Lessen Competition for Workers, Creators, Suppliers, or Other Providers.

• Guideline 11: When an Acquisition Involves Partial Ownership or Minority Interests, the Agencies Examine Its Impact on Competition.