On September 17, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice released their 47th Annual Hart-Scott-Rodino Report (Fiscal Year 2024), providing insight into merger and enforcement activity. In a new insight, Director of Competition Policy Fred Ashton explains why, despite the report’s covered merger transactions occurring during the final year of the Biden Administration, the antitrust agencies under President Trump are likely to remain vigilant when evaluating the transactions of larger firms.

An excerpt:

The FTC’s press release announcing the HSR FY 2024 report noted that the share of transactions valued at more than $1 billion reached approximately one-fourth in FY 2024. To put that share in perspective, just under 15 percent of transactions were valued at $1 billion or more in 2015. Furthermore, that share was relatively steady between 2015–2020, before steadily rising to 25.6 percent in 2024.

Read the analysis.