Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

Independent federal agency responsible for consumer protection and antitrust enforcement, including premerger notification review. - Primary merger review authority

The United States raised the minimum deal size requiring federal antitrust review to $133.9 million on February 15, 2026—up from $126.4 million the previous year. Companies planning mergers or acquisitions above this threshold must now file premerger notifications with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) and wait for government clearance before closing their deals.

Updated Feb 16

Federal agency that filed landmark lawsuit against top pharmacy benefit managers for inflating insulin prices. - Actively litigating against pharmacy benefit managers

On January 1, 2026, two unprecedented insulin programs launched simultaneously: nonprofit Civica Rx began distributing insulin glargine pens for $55 per box, while California became the first state to sell its own CalRx-branded insulin at the same price point—both undercutting branded products by up to 90%. The coordinated launches mark the first major breach in a pricing fortress built by three pharmaceutical giants who control 90% of the U.S. insulin market. Unlike existing insulin, these products require no insurance forms, no rebates, no hidden markups. Just one transparent price available to anyone.

Updated Feb 10

U.S. agency responsible for reviewing mergers and acquisitions to prevent anticompetitive consolidation. - Reviewing transaction

Johnson & Johnson spun off its consumer health division as Kenvue in May 2023, creating the world's largest pure-play consumer health company. Less than three years later, shareholders of both Kimberly-Clark and Kenvue have overwhelmingly approved a $48.7 billion acquisition that will absorb Kenvue into the Kleenex and Huggies maker—with 96% of Kimberly-Clark shares and 99% of Kenvue shares voting in favor. On January 30, 2026, The Lancet published a comprehensive study finding no evidence linking acetaminophen use during pregnancy to autism, directly contradicting concerns raised by the Trump administration that had sent Kenvue's stock tumbling in late 2025.

Updated Feb 5

The FTC enforces consumer protection and antitrust laws. - Undergoing major policy shift on AI regulation

The FTC just tore up its own rulebook. On December 22, 2025, the agency voted 2-0 to reverse a year-old enforcement action against Rytr, an AI writing tool accused of enabling fake reviews. The reason? The original case 'unduly burdens AI innovation' and violates Trump's AI Action Plan. Yet on the same day, the agency sent warning letters to 10 companies for suspected fake review violations, threatening civil penalties up to $53,088 per violation.

Updated Dec 29, 2025

U.S. antitrust enforcer investigating Big Tech acquisitions and AI market concentration. - Scrutinizing tech consolidation; cleared Nvidia-Intel deal December 19

On Christmas Eve 2025, Nvidia paid $20 billion for Groq's assets—nearly triple the AI chip startup's $6.9 billion valuation from three months earlier. The deal brings Groq's founder Jonathan Ross, who created Google's original Tensor Processing Unit, and his breakthrough inference technology into Nvidia's fold. It's Nvidia's largest acquisition ever, nearly three times bigger than its $7 billion Mellanox purchase. By structuring the deal as a "non-exclusive licensing agreement" rather than an outright acquisition, Nvidia bypasses Hart-Scott-Rodino Act merger review requirements that trigger automatic FTC scrutiny—following Microsoft's 2024 playbook with Inflection AI. The deal's unusual structure has drawn immediate analyst warnings about "the fiction of competition" as Groq's leadership and technical talent move to Nvidia while the company nominally continues independently. Adding to the intrigue: 1789 Capital, where Donald Trump Jr. serves as partner, was among Groq's September investors who saw their stake nearly triple in just three months.

Updated Dec 27, 2025

The FTC enforces U.S. antitrust laws in mergers that could harm competition. Its review of Boeing’s acquisition of Spirit focused on potential foreclosure of Airbus and rival defense contractors dependent on Spirit’s aerostructures. - U.S. competition regulator conditioning Boeing–Spirit merger

On December 8, 2025, Boeing completed its $4.7 billion acquisition of Spirit AeroSystems, valuing the deal at about $8.3 billion including debt and reversing a 2005 spin‑off that created the world’s largest independent aerostructures supplier. The transaction folds Spirit’s Boeing‑related commercial and aftermarket work — including 737, 767, 777 and 787 fuselages and major structures — back into Boeing, while carving out a separate Spirit Defense unit and divesting all Airbus‑related Spirit sites to Airbus and Spirit’s Malaysian plant to CTRM to satisfy U.S. and EU antitrust conditions.

Updated Dec 11, 2025