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Acquisitions to Enter New Markets

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  • Carl Shapiro

Abstract

How should antitrust enforcers treat acquisitions by successful firms to enter new markets? Should a major pharmaceutical company with an extensive sales and distribution network be permitted to acquire a popular drug that does not compete against any of the drugs it already owns? Throughout American economic history, expansion by successful firms into new markets has played a vital role in promoting competition and spurring economic growth. However, acquisitions to enter new markets also can harm competition by enabling monopolists to enlarge their empires. The 2023 Merger Guidelines break new ground by announcing that the US antitrust agencies will challenge mergers and acquisitions that "could enable the merged firm to extend a dominant position from one market into a related market," but they say very little about how such acquisitions will be evaluated. This article explains how antitrust enforcers can use economic evidence and theory to distinguish between acquisitions to enter new markets that are harmful and those that are beneficial.

Suggested Citation

  • Carl Shapiro, 2025. "Acquisitions to Enter New Markets," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 39(1), pages 53-76, Winter.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:jecper:v:39:y:2025:i:1:p:53-76
    DOI: 10.1257/jep.20241414
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • K21 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Antitrust Law
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance
    • L40 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - General
    • L65 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - Chemicals; Rubber; Drugs; Biotechnology; Plastics

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