A Commentary on Presenting Efficiencies in a Horizontal Merger Review

The rise of unilateral effects analysis has significantly increased the importance of presenting a comprehensive review of the efficiencies relevant to a potentially problematic merger. Although numerous articles address efficiencies from a theoretical point of view, few practical commentaries exist. This paper provides an extensive discussion intended to aid firms in their efficiency presentations. A range of options for addressing the cognizability of efficiencies (focused on validity, verification, and merger specificity) and the balancing of anticompetitive effects with efficiencies are considered. Although the merging parties might not be able to fully evaluate every issue noted in this overview, a good faith effort to provide a comprehensive analysis should enhance the consideration given to their claims by the enforcement agency