The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the United States Department of Justice have formed a partnership to change the rules contained in the mergers between large corporations, making it even more difficult to buy companies in their territory. The 51-page document proposes major changes to these legal acquisitions that could be a thorn in the side of investors and the intentions of various tech companies looking to acquire major brands.

Some of the rules may directly affect the technology market, such as paragraph 5, which provides for the following regulation: “A merger must not significantly reduce competition by creating a company that controls products and services that its competitors can use to compete.” Google, with its search engine and control over platform ads, and Apple, with its apps under the iOS/MacOS/iPadOS ecosystem exclusivity program, will be targeted by the new rules.

Item 9 appears to have been made following a clash between the FTC and Microsoft, demanding that the entire process be revisited at any time. “When a merger is part of a series of multiple acquisitions, agencies may consider the entire sequence.” Considering they’ve been bought out by Rare, Mojang, ZeniMax Media (Bethesda, Arkane, id Software) and Activision Blizzard King in just the last ten years, any other move would have stymied them.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland said the update is intended to modernize the negotiation model. “Uncontrolled consolidation threatens the freedom and fair markets on which our economy is built. This updated merger guidance is in response to the realities of today’s industry and will enable the Department of Justice to transparently and effectively protect Americans from the harm these anti-competitive mergers are causing.”

Clash between Microsoft and FTC

Despite winning in court, Microsoft is still facing appeals from the FTC to avoid legal action. However, the completion of the entire operation is scheduled for the month of October – after facing the latest hurdle in the form of the acquisition of the British agency CMA. So far, the only development has been an agreement with Sony Interactive Entertainment to continue releasing the Call of Duty franchise on PlayStation consoles.

It’s worth noting that this isn’t the only time the FTC has been forced to change its own rules, and the changes were also made a few years ago during the Donald Trump administration. The approval of these new rules could also be jeopardized if the Republican Party wins the next election in the United States – with the possibility of overturning any changes that have been made so far.

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Source: PC World.

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