Last August, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a blog post “adjusting” the agency’s procedure for reviewing mergers, warning companies to proceed with deals “at their own risk.” Today, the agency continues to investigate Uber’s purchase of alcohol-delivery service Drizly — despite the deal closing last October. The FTC’s extended probe into the Uber-Drizly deal highlights the agency’s new, unhinged approach to mergers and acquisitions.
The FTC announced: “For deals that we cannot fully investigate within the requisite timelines, we have begun to send standard form letters alerting companies that the FTC’s investigation remains open and reminding companies that the agency may subsequently determine that the deal was unlawful.” Rather than determine definitively whether a deal is “unlawful” or “lawful,” the probe continues while the deal hangs in legal limbo.
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