The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice are reviewing the guidelines used to asses the antitrust issues raised by corporate mergers. The review will take place place at the end of this year and is expected to take six to ten months. Christine Varney, who is the assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, said they will be looking primarily at three areas: market definition, market concentration and competitive effects.

The review is intended to bring the guidelines into line with actual practices at the two agencies, and to update outmoded guidelines to reflect changes in modern business and society.