In a bold regulatory move, the Federal Trade Commission, under the Biden administration, has caused distress in the M&A community. They have accomplished this by invoking a seldom-used clause from a federal antitrust law, leading to significant modifications in a deal worth $5.2 billion in the natural gas industry. This development has displayed the administration’s skepticism towards mergers.
The FTC specifically cited Section 8 of the Clayton Act in this development. This section prohibits what is known as “interlocking directorate”, a scenario where a single individual simultaneously serves as a director for two competing companies. This marks a milestone as the first instance of invocation of Section 8 by the FTC in four decades.
For more details on the scenario, you can check the original article at Law.com.