What FY2025 merger data show about federal technology deal review
A new Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission report shows how selective federal merger review can be: companies reported 2,006 transactions under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act in fiscal year 2025, but only 41 received the most demanding information-gathering step known as a Second Request.
The report was released July 2, 2026, and covers October 1, 2024, through September 30, 2025. It includes transactions across the economy—not technology deals alone—and the agencies caution that the HSR category can include mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures. A single transaction can also involve more than one filing.
Most notified transactions did not reach extended review
Approximately 31.8% of the 2,006 reported transactions were valued at more than $1 billion. That figure shows the size and complexity of the deals entering the federal notification system, but deal value by itself does not determine whether a transaction violates antitrust law.
For Second Request calculations, the agencies used an adjusted baseline of 1,944 transactions. The adjustment excluded filings that were incomplete, exempt, found to be non-reportable or withdrawn before the waiting period began.
The FTC issued 20 Second Requests and the DOJ issued 21, for a combined 41, or 2.1% of the adjusted total. The agencies also received clearance to conduct an initial investigation in approximately 9.7% of adjusted transactions—189 of 1,944.
A Second Request means that the investigating agency is seeking additional documents and information after the initial filing. It is not a final decision to block or condition a transaction. The agency may close the investigation, negotiate a remedy or challenge the deal.
The 2.1% figure should not be treated as the share of technology deals receiving Second Requests. The report does not provide a technology-only denominator for notified transactions, clearances or Second Requests.
Why technology deals can still face remedies
The agencies reported 18 merger-enforcement actions in fiscal 2025: eight by the FTC and 10 by the DOJ. The report identifies technology as one of the sectors in which the agencies pursued enforcement, but it does not say that all 18 actions involved technology companies.
The $35 billion Synopsys-Ansys transaction illustrates how a major technology deal can proceed after the government identifies competitive concerns. In May 2025, the FTC entered a consent order requiring divestitures involving software used in semiconductor design and light simulation. The divested assets were sold to Keysight Technologies.
The remedy allowed the transaction to proceed subject to changes intended to preserve competition in specialized software markets. It was not a court-blocked merger. The agencies’ description of the deal reflects their allegations and enforcement position; it should not be presented as a judicial finding unless a court separately rules on those claims.
What consumers and businesses should watch
For technology companies, the report suggests that federal review is driven by more than headline purchase price. Officials may focus on whether merging firms are close competitors, whether a deal affects a concentrated market and whether the products involved are important inputs for other businesses.
For consumers and business customers, the effects can appear indirectly through software prices, product choice, service quality and the pace of innovation. A divestiture can preserve an independent supplier or product that might otherwise disappear after an acquisition.
The review process also changed after the report period. On July 23, 2026, the DOJ said it had resumed targeted Second Request investigations, which prioritize the information most relevant to the agency’s competitive questions before requiring full compliance when broader production is necessary.
The next useful indicators are new complaints, consent orders, divestiture implementation and future HSR reports. Those records will help show how agencies apply the screening process to technology platforms, infrastructure and specialized software markets—and whether the balance between review burden and enforcement changes over time.
Sources
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