FTC Chair Lina Khan welcomes companies weighing antitrust in deals, addresses critics By Reuters

Written by Judy Godoy and Lananh Nguyen

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan on Friday welcomed companies evaluating antitrust considerations early in the deal-making process.

“When you see greater scrutiny of mergers, you see greater deterrence of illegal mergers,” Khan told the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, responding to a question about the hostility she sometimes draws from Wall Street investors.

“As a law enforcement officer, I want people to think about whether or not the deal they’re making is going to break the law, so this is progress,” she said. “If you look at it from the perspective of transaction fees and so on, I can understand why it might be a concern.”

Khan has come under fire from some in the business community who say close scrutiny by the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department of pending deals has dried up the merger pipeline. In July, two wealthy Democratic donors called on Vice President Kamala Harris to replace Khan if Harris is elected president.

More empirical studies are needed on how antitrust enforcement affects venture capital, Khan said.