As directed by Executive Order, M&A activity across all industries will be subject to heightened scrutiny for potential concentration and anticompetitive impacts. Regulatory agencies note they are currently seeing a “merger surge” and the FTC, in particular, states that it is looking to “understand why so many industries have too few competitors.”
The banking regulators also indicate they are exploring ways to enhance their merger framework to promote competition, innovation, and consumer choice as, notably, transactions subject to the Bank Merger Act are specifically called out in the Executive Order. Proposed transactions, especially those deemed “large” or involving large institutions should anticipate heightened regulatory scrutiny.
Companies should actively assess how increased regulatory scrutiny and oversight of mergers and acquisitions activity could impact their business strategies.
