to the merger. We show that a PPO reduces the minimal synergy level necessary to make a merger beneficial for consumers …. It follows that an antitrust authority ignoring existing PPOs when evaluating merger proposals (which reflects the … current EU merger control regime) invites sneaky takeovers: Acquiring firms strategically use PPOs prior to a full merger …

collusion hypothesis, rivals of the merging firms benefit from the merger since successful collusion limits output and raises …

This paper examines whether cartel breakdown provokes a period of intensive merger activity amongst the former … effects - alternatively, they may be the consequence of market restructuring, necessitated by more intense competition post …

that in absence of any penalty on cartel, a firm always prefers a cartel to merger, when the latter does not involve any … concentration among the competitive fringe lowers the profitability of merger as compared to cartel. We then discuss the impact of … antitrust regulation against cartel in the absence and presence of merger regulations. We find that in our model, regulation …

assumption were held, a positive external effect of a proposed merger would represent a sufficient condition to allow the merger … theory, moreover, demonstrates that privately unprofitable mergers can be the result of rational action. Therefore, we drop … this restrictive assumption and allow for unprofitable mergers to occur. This exerts a considerable impact on merger policy …

mergers. If this assumption held, a positive external effect of a proposed merger would represent a sufficient condition to … allow the merger. However, the empirical picture on mergers and acquisitions reveals a significant share of unprofitable … mergers and economic theory, moreover, demonstrates that privately unprofitable mergers can be the result of rational action …

actually reduce consumer surplus which opposes the use of an efficiency defense in merger control. …