FTC and Justice Department to ensure that mergers do not violate antitrust law

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U.S. antitrust enforcers plan to hold talks on revamping merger guidelines, they said on Tuesday amid expectations that the Democratic administration will give corporate combinations a tougher review.

"The 1992 guidelines explicitly stated that they would be revised from time to time," Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz said at a conference at the Georgetown University Law Center. "We think the time has come to do that."

The FTC and Justice Department share the job of ensuring that mergers do not violate antitrust law.

The announcement comes as the corporate community appears to expect the FTC and Justice Department to be tougher than their Republican predecessors in assessing mergers and the actions of companies that dominate their markets.

Asked if the expectation of tougher review was correct, Leibowitz said, "Well, sure."