In M&A, Consider A Dry Run

Freeborn & Peters attorney Jeffery Cross looks at a frequent scenario in a proposed merger, wherein the government requests additional information by way of a so-called “Second Request.” Responding can be burdensome, time consuming and expensive, he writes in his Today’s General Counsel column The Antitrust Litigator, but it will be much easier if the company has already done a dry run. One advantage is that the concrete knowledge it provides can facilitate constructive negotiations with regulators over possible alternative responses that might be acceptable.