Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Lina Khan defended the agency’s merger enforcement record while responding to an inquiry from a member of Congress in a November 3, 2023, letter.

Before turning to the specific questions presented to the FTC, Chairwoman Khan reiterated the agency’s commitment to the enforcement of relevant statutes that included, when necessary, moving to block unlawful mergers and acquisitions. 

The letter specifically referenced the importance of ensuring that merger enforcement keeps pace with “new market realities” as an agency priority. To that end, Chairwoman Khan cited the FTC’s efforts to develop a revised version of the merger guidelines, which was released in July 2023 as a key part of those efforts.

Turning to the agency’s track record in merger enforcement cases, Chairwoman Khan stated that since she began her tenure as FTC Chair in June 2021, the agency has taken action against at least 38 mergers. Ultimately, 19 of those mergers were abandoned by the parties, and 14 resulted in divestitures designed to maintain a competitive market. As these statistics show, the vast majority of mergers the FTC has taken action against either did not proceed or proceeded only after divestitures occurred.