Structural Presumptions for Non-horizontal Mergers in the 2023 Merger Guidelines: A Primer and a Path Forward

Javier Donna and Pedro Pereira

Review of Industrial Organization, 2024, vol. 65, issue 1, No 12, 303-345

Abstract: Abstract The 2023 Merger Guidelines (MGs) change the Agencies’ narrative regarding non-horizontal mergers. They follow a four-pronged approach: (1) They blend horizontal and non-horizontal mergers. (2) They simplify the narrative about non-horizontal mergers. (3) They consolidate and broaden the theories of harm in non-horizontal mergers. (4) They blend economics and law analysis. In this article, we elaborate on these points. We discuss how the MGs’ anticompetitive presumptions apply to non-horizontal mergers, relate them to the economics literature, and provide examples. We finish discussing the economic rationale of the structural presumption involving rivals’ exit concerns due to the exercise of market power and propose a path forward.

Keywords: Antitrust; 2023 Merger guidelines; Vertical mergers; Rivals’ exit; Double marginalization; Merger evaluation; Competition policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: K21 K41 L42 L44 L52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Working Paper: Structural Presumptions for Non-Horizontal Mergers in the 2023 Merger Guidelines: A Primer and a Path Forwar (2024)
Working Paper: Structural Presumptions for Non-horizontal Mergers in the 2023 Merger Guidelines: A Primer and a Path Forward (2024)
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DOI: 10.1007/s11151-024-09971-z

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