AAI Outlines Major Issues For Merger Enforcement During the COVID-19 Pandemic

AAI’s Diana Moss shares a presentation to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on merger enforcement during the COVID-19 pandemic. A video recap of her remarks at the OECD virtual event can be found here. The disruption caused by the pandemic has triggered numerous proposals for acquisitions of smaller, struggling rivals but also by large incumbent firms to integrate horizontally and vertically. Moss’ presentation touches on the challenges these rapid developments pose for competition enforcers across all aspects of merger review, including the timing of reviews, defining markets, competitive effects, efficiencies, remedies, and failing firm defenses. The analysis builds on AAI’s expanding research and advocacy on critical issues around antitrust enforcement during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in the food supply chain and the healthcare system.