States Ramp Up Antitrust Suits as Trump Agencies Ease Deal Scrutiny on $110 Billion Mergers
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Oct 17
States Ramp Up Antitrust Suits as Trump Agencies Ease Deal Scrutiny on $110 Billion Mergers
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Oct 17
Summary
$110 billion and $6.2 billion media deals have become targets as state attorneys general step up antitrust challenges that dealmakers once largely discounted.
Federal regulators' lighter-touch merger review under Trump's second term has pushed states to fill the gap, extending scrutiny beyond mergers to conduct cases.
In April, a bipartisan state coalition beat Live Nation in court after the Justice Department separately settled with the company during trial.
Business advisers say the risk of intervention by 50 states adds costly uncertainty to transactions, while antitrust advocates cast states as a backstop against weakened federal enforcement.