2025 Edition
Curated by Dechert’s antitrust practice, this comprehensive collection of real-world documents highlights issues that have caused deals unwanted attention from government authorities. This is intended to help develop pro-competitive, fact-based deal themes and to spot hot content that may need to be analyzed or explained. Inclusion in the collection does not necessarily mean that the document supported the government’s case to block a merger. Additional context, explanation, or documents often provide more probative evidence and can rebut use of isolated statements in documents.
A Sampling of Our Collection
The Antitrust Merger Hot Documents Collection
Share this page:
Overview
The Importance of Deal Documents
Antitrust agencies give the most weight to deal materials because they reflect senior leadership’s views on the core question: whether the merger may harm consumers. The FTC has shown that “hot documents”—those predicting adverse price or non price harms—can drive enforcement decisions (Horizontal Merger Investigation Data, Jan. 2013). Because deal documents are produced by small teams over a short window, counsel can shape fact based, pro-competitive themes grounded in commercial realities. Ordinary course materials are diffuse and harder to manage, making disciplined deal document drafting a key lever in merger outcomes.
This roadmap organizes the deal documents by types of common analyses: (a) describing the combined firm; (b) describing the seller; (c) deal rationale; (d) pricing; (e) synergies and valuation; and (f) antitrust risk. As you consider which slides to use, you should keep the following in mind:
Using Real-World Illustrations to Counsel
Audience: Tailor content to counsel, senior management, or bankers.
Timing: The timing of the counseling or training – pre-signing, post-signing, or part of the integration planning process – may impact the nature of the guidance. Early preparation is often the best preventive medicine.
Themes: Emphasize genuine, pro-competitive deal themes aligned with commercial realities to shape internal and external communications effectively.
Dechert is also the creator of the Dechert Antitrust Merger Investigation Timing Tracker, better known as DAMITT. The quarterly report is the leading source of analysis for significant U.S. and EU antitrust merger investigation and litigation trends.
About Dechert's Antitrust/Competition Practice
View the Full Collection
Share this page:
Dechert’s global antitrust practice has a well-earned reputation for practical antitrust advice. Across industries and regions, leading companies rely on Dechert’s knowledge of the government process and successful track record securing clearance for the most visible, challenging deals.
Schedule a Training
View Webinar Recording