ANALYSIS: HPE-Juniper Deal Shows the Antitrust Structure Swaying

In the US, the routine process for settling a merger enforcement action involves the public. If the Justice Department or Federal Trade Commission reaches a consent decree to permit a merger to close, the settlement and a “competitive impact statement” must be filed with the court, published in the Federal Register, and open for comment from the public for 60 days. Before entering the consent judgment, the court must determine if the merger is in the public interest.

Typically this is all just a formality. But this “Tunney Act” process for the DOJ’s settlement to allow Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. ...