A Dawning Era for Vertical Mergers?: The New Vertical Merger Guidelines, the FTC's Challenge to Illumina/Grail, and the Future of Enforcement

The antitrust agencies’ approach to vertical mergers has been the subject of significant debate — with potential changes still on the horizon. Last summer, the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission issued long-awaited Vertical Merger Guidelines, the first update since 1984. The FTC’s challenge to the Illumina/Grail merger — which sits at the intersection of healthcare and developing technology issues — is currently scheduled to begin an administrative trial next month. This would mark the first vertical merger litigation under the new Vertical Merger Guidelines, and one of the first since the DOJ’s loss in AT&T/Time Warner. Our panel of experts will discuss the recent developments in the vertical merger space, the theories at issue in the Illumina/Grail case, and implications for enforcement activity over the coming months and years.

Featuring:

• Steve Cernak, Partner, Bona Law PC
• Michael Kades, Director, Markets and Competition Policy, Equitable Growth
• Bruce Kobayashi, Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University
• Thomas Lambert, Wall Chair in Corporate Law and Governance and Professor of Law, University of Missouri School of Law
• Taylor Owings, Partner, Baker Botts L.L.P.
• Moderator: Elyse Dorsey, Adjunct Professor, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University

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