Antitrust/M&A Year-in-Review 2024
2024 was a significant year for merger enforcement worldwide. In the United States, the Biden administration continued the aggressive approach reflected in the revamped Merger Guidelines issued in December 2023. In Europe, the President of the European Union appointed a new Commissioner for Competition, Teresa Ribera—signaling an increased focus on promoting innovation and protecting European businesses—while the European Commission suffered a major setback in the courtroom. Asia was a mixed bag: Enforcers scaled back regulatory hurdles for lower-risk deals yet continued to scrutinize more complex transactions. And developments in Australia and New Zealand, including Australia's proposal of a new premerger notification regime, signal increased scrutiny of future M&A deals.
To state the obvious, the developments in Europe, Asia, and Australia/New Zealand are far more helpful in predicting future outcomes than the developments in the United States. Elections matter, and the Trump administration may scale back—if not unwind entirely—a number of its predecessor's more ambitious changes. But some are sure to stick, and efforts to restore prior enforcement practices may take time to implement. We therefore believe that last year's events—in the United States and abroad—will provide valuable insight to companies exploring potential M&A transactions in 2025 and beyond.
