Highlights of the Much-Awaited U.S. Vertical Merger Guidelines

The new U.S. Vertical Merger Guidelines close the gap that was long manifest between the old guidance and both the economic theory and the agencies’ practice. The calls for a revision of the guidelines intensified with the AT&T/Time Warner unfolding, which raised awareness as to the need for pedagogy regarding the agencies’ approach to vertical mergers. The guidelines are now clear on the interdependence between EDM and incentives to foreclosure and develop on bargaining theory, even if a