FTC reshapes M&A terrain
The FTC under Andrew Ferguson is tightening M&A scrutiny and changing how deals are evaluated, even as a recent U.S. appeals court tossed an FTC order against Intuit over TurboTax ads—signaling aggressive enforcement plus measurable legal pushback. That combo makes antitrust and consumer‑protection risk a live item for platform owners and product leaders. (markets.financialcontent.com) (reuters.com)
Andrew N. Ferguson was officially designated Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission on January 20, 2025. (ftc.gov) The FTC required Synopsys and Ansys to divest certain assets to resolve antitrust concerns tied to their proposed $35 billion merger in a May 28, 2025 consent order. (ftc.gov) The agency’s Synopsys/Ansys consent order identified anticompetitive overlaps in optical software tools, photonic simulation tools, and RTL power-analysis tools and the final divestiture order was issued on October 17, 2025. (ftc.gov) Chairman Ferguson, joined by Commissioners Melissa Holyoak and Mark Meador, issued a public statement in late May 2025 explicitly endorsing divestitures and settlements as an enforcement tool when they preserve competition. (ftc.gov) An internal FTC memo dated February 18, 2025 noted the updated HSR filing rule had driven an unusually large number of premerger filings and that the Premerger Notification Office typically processes between 35 and 50 transactions per week. (ftc.gov) The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a 3–0 decision on March 20, 2026 that granted Intuit’s petition, vacated the FTC’s cease‑and‑desist order, and remanded the case after concluding adjudication by an FTC administrative law judge violated the separation‑of‑powers doctrine cited in SEC v. Jarkesy. (ca5.uscourts.gov) Intuit previously resolved a 2022 state action with a $141 million payout to roughly 4.4 million customers, and a coalition of state attorneys general filed amici briefs urging courts to uphold FTC restrictions before the Fifth Circuit decision. (tax.thomsonreuters.com, oag.dc.gov) Independent deal‑making surveys and outlooks published in early 2026 report rebuilding M&A pipelines and increasing transaction intent, a backdrop that amplifies the practical effect of the FTC’s renewed willingness to use divestitures. (kpmg.com)
