Overview
On January 2, 2023, Law360 quoted Lee Berger in an article, "2023 To Be A Year Of Merger Appeals, Fix-First Fights." The piece discusses what to expect in the new year for the Biden-era U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division and Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The agencies are led by officials who want to reverse what they describe as lax enforcement but whose main merger challenge victories have so far largely come from abandoned transactions, not head-to-head fights.
In September, the DOJ filed a complaint challenging Swedish locks giant Assa Abloy’s $4.3 billion planned purchase of Spectrum Brands’ hardware and home improvement division. Addressing the DOJ’s concerns about the sale, Assa Abloy said it entered into a binding agreement to sell its door and cabinet hardware manufacturers, Emtek Products and Schaub & Co.
Regarding Assa Abloy’s attempt to fix the merger, Berger said: “[it] puts DOJ in a very difficult position of trying to show, if it wants to proceed to trial, that the fix still isn't sufficient.”
Read the full article at Law360.
