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What you need to know
- Andrew Ferguson is the Republican nominee for President of the Federal Trade Commission. He could replace Lina K. Khan.
- Khan has been tough on corporate mergers—and has been cracking down on Big Tech during her time heading the FTC.
- Ferguson may go easier on M&A deals but stay tough on tech firms.
Donald Trump nominated Republican lawyer Andrew Ferguson for the position of next Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. Ferguson will replace Lina K. Khan, who is known to have been very tough with both mergers, and Big Tech.
“Andrew has a proven record of standing up to Big Tech censorship, and protecting Freedom of Speech in our Great Country,” Trump published a blog post on Truth Social, his platform for social media, Tuesday evening. “Andrew will be the most America First, and pro-innovation FTC Chair in our Country’s History.”
Ferguson Takes on Big Tech
Ferguson became a FTC commissioner in April. The FTC under his direction, he said, was a social media platform called X. “will end Big Tech’s vendetta against competition and free speech.”
“We will make sure that America is the world’s technological leader and the best place for innovators to bring new ideas to life,” Ferguson writes
Trump also on Tuesday nominated Republican antitrust lawyer Mark Meador to be an FTC commissioner. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Meador was a former adviser to Utah Senator Mike Lee, who had recently led legislation to dismantle Alphabet’s Google.
The FTC under Khan has sued Amazon (AMZN) and Meta Platforms (META) for allegedly abusing their monopolistic position to stifle competition.
M&A Is Well Off 2021's Highs
Ferguson’s appointment may have been welcomed by bankers, who see him as a more favorable dealmaker. Total U.S. M&A volume so far this year is $1.35 trillion, just slightly up from 2023 numbers and well off the level of $2.62 trillion in 2021, according to Dealogic figures that exclude debt.
Khan has blocked millions of dollars of deals. This includes the long planned $20 billion merger between Kroger(KR)and Albertsons(ACI), that a federal court judge yesterday blocked. Albertsons announced the termination of its deal with Kroger on Wednesday. The company filed a complaint alleging that they had taken a “willfully deficient” Securing regulatory approval is a good way to start.
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