M&A Injunctions ‘Surest Way to Preserve Competition’: Kanter

DOJ Antitrust Division Chief Jonathan Kanter worries that “merger remedies short of blocking a transaction too often miss the mark,” he told the New York State Bar Association virtually Monday. “Complex settlements, whether behavioral or structural, suffer from significant deficiencies.” When the Antitrust Division decides a deal is likely to lessen competition, “in most situations we should seek a simple injunction to block the transaction,” he said. “It is the surest way to preserve competition.” DOJ must give “full weight to the benefits of preserving competition that already exists in a market, rather than predicting whether a divestiture will actually serve to keep a market competitive,” said Kanter. “That will often mean that we cannot accept anything less than an injunction blocking the merger.” His division “will pursue remedies that are forward-looking in nature, especially in dynamic markets,” he said. “We will pursue remedies -- not settlements. We cannot compromise if there is a violation of the law.”