Business Organizations Law Commons^™

The Bigness Mystique And The Merger Policy Debate: A Comment From West Germany, Ingo L.O. Schmidt

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

After eight years of an antitrust policy dominated by the principles of the Chicago School, which is better characterized as a protrust merger policy, the United States and the European Community are confronted with a new wave of mergers. The arguments for mergers are the same as in the 1960s: merger-induced bigness promotes international competition, efficiency, and technological progress. In this context, Adams and Brock in their excellent analysis ask the right questions. But did merger-induced corporate giantism provide salvation for European industry? Did it provide world-class competitiveness? Was it a success and a model of industrial policy worthy of …