Deputy Assistant Attorney General (DAAG) Bill Rinner’s stated goal for his June 4 speech was to provide insight into how the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, will “handle merger review to ensure procedural fairness and robust enforcement.” The promised guiding principle will be that a healthy dealmaking market is important to competition and economic growth, but robust antitrust enforcement is critical to vigorous competition.
On June 2, the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, agreed to its first settlement of a merger challenged under the new administration, less than one week after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) entered into its first such settlement. The consent decree will require the divestiture of three businesses and will allow Keysight Technologies, Inc. to complete its proposed $1.5 billion acquisition of Spirent Communications plc.