Comparing the 2023 Merger Guidelines with the Draft Guidelines

Vertical merger draft guideline 6 removed, and draft guidelines 8 and 13 combined into Guideline 7

I put together a quick comparison chart of the new 2023 Merger Guidelines with the Draft Guidelines from July 2023. It appears that vertical merger draft guideline 6 was removed, and draft guidelines 8 and 13 were combined into Guideline 7.

The Horizontal Merger Guidelines from 2010 (preceded by HMG from 1982, 1992, 1997) and the withdrawn 2020 Vertical Merger Guidelines are now replaced with these 2023 Merger Guidelines that include 11 Guidelines (rather than 13 in the draft).

Many antitrust scholars and practitioners will now begin to analyze these guidelines and what it means for HSR pre-merger reviews, business guidance, global antitrust policy, and litigation.