Robert H. Lande
Published: 2019
Total Pages: 5
Get eBook
Today the largest U.S. company in terms of market capitalization, Apple, which recently hit the $1 trillion mark, could lawfully merge with the second largest company, Amazon (which has ~$800 billion in market capitalization) and also with other incredibly large firms (e.g., Exxon/Mobil and JP MorganChase), so long as they spun off any significant overlaps. In fact, under current antitrust law, it would theoretically be permissible for a series of mergers to leave the U.S. with at most ten corporations, each owning 10 percent of every industry. Sandeep Vaheesan and I are drafting and proposing legislation that would block these extremely large mergers. The bill we're constructing would block all mergers by companies larger than clearly specified--but quite large--limits. For example, any firm with more than $10 billion in assets could be prohibited from merging with any other company also exceeding this threshold. We believe that legislation requiring this limitation would have a number of benefits, with virtually no risk of downside consequences for society.