Before You Hit Send
For antitrust attorneys, deal teams, and M&A bankers
Real deal-room messages that became evidence — one gun-jumping cautionary tale at a time.
After a record $5.6M penalty and a rare DOJ action, pre-closing coordination is the enforcement story of the year. What deal teams are getting wrong — and where the line actually is.
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One helpful email suggesting the two companies align prices "so we're ready on day one." That's not readiness. That's gun-jumping.
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A slide promised to "rationalize the competitive overlap and recover pricing." The government reads decks too.
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Current customer-level pricing, forwarded to a sales VP "just so he's in the loop." The clean room existed for exactly this reason.
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Deal rationale written for the board — "neutralize our only real competitor" — becomes the government's favorite kind of exhibit.
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An eager integration lead started directing the other side's reps weeks early. Assuming control before clearance is the textbook violation.
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