FTC Taking Mulligans With The Tech Sector

You’ll never see Tiger Woods ask for a do-over, also known in golfing circles as a “mulligan.” The rules of golf prohibit mulligans.  In the eyes of  the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, however, the rules of antitrust do not.  According to Bruce Hoffman, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, it may take some mulligans as the Bureau revisits previously approved mergers, particularly in the technology sector.  In testimony before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, Hoffman announced that the FTC has begun reconsidering certain approved and completed mergers in the digital technology markets.  Upon re-examination, Hoffman says, the FTC may reverse its own prior approval and seek remedies including the unwinding of mergers that it may have gotten wrong the first time around.  For companies subject to such re-review, the prospect of post hoc divestiture is definitely not “par for the course.”