In: Economics
If there is direct evidence of anticompetitive merger effects such as eliminating a head-to-head rival, which step of the merger guidelines becomes less important?
a. determining if merger-related efficiencies outweigh anticompetitive harm
b. designing a divestiture remedy to restore competition lost by the merger
c. defining relevant markets
d. determining if one of the firms is going bankrupt
Answer C) Defining relevant markets
Explanation- When there is direct evidence of anticompetitive merger effects such as eliminating a head-to-head rival defining the relavant markets step of the merger guidelines becomes less important as it will not help to reduce the harm caused to other companies in same sector.