Excerpt
November 16, 2023, Paper: "Three recent global merger cases in the technology sector resulted in divergent outcomes across various jurisdictions. The cases under discussion involve the Sabre/Farelogix merger, the Illumina/Grail merger, and the Microsoft/Activision Blizzard merger. In all three instances, U.S. antitrust agencies attempted to block the mergers but failed to persuade the courts, ultimately permitting the mergers to proceed. Conversely, both the European Commission and the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) achieved more assertive outcomes compared to their U.S. counterparts. Conflicting rulings pose challenges for the competition agencies involved, the merging parties, and the public alike. Efforts should be made to minimize such disparities in rulings. The paper proposes the adoption of a "soft" model of cooperation among competition agencies when reviewing mergers in the technology sector. This model is based on the successful use of waiver letter procedures commonly employed in global merger control cases, facilitating the exchange of information among agencies."