Dynamic Antitrust Discussion Series: “Killer Acquisitions”

Is it true that markets are becoming too concentrated? More specifically, is it true that large companies are using mergers as a tool thwart competition and stifle innovation by killing off upstart rivals? These questions depend on how you define relevant markets for antitrust purposes. Legislative proposals in the United States and European Union would attempt to end so-called “killer acquisitions” by preventing companies with large market capitalizations from buying small firms. But would that also preclude “enabler acquisitions” that foster competition rather than stifle innovation?

ITIF and Competition Policy International hosted the fifth in a series of discussions on “dynamic antitrust,” in which Aurelien Portuese, ITIF’s director of antitrust and innovation policy, sits down with leading scholars and antitrust enforcers in Washington, Brussels, and elsewhere to discuss the path forward in making antitrust a foundation for innovation.