Mergers of Complements

Antitrust recognizes three categories of mergers: horizontal (between competitors), vertical (involving buyers and sellers), and mergers of potential competitors. This classification system seriously understates the role of complements in mergers. Complements are things that are produced or consumed together, and most mergers involve some complementary features. Vertical mergers are a special case of mergers of complements. Mergers that involve networks or ecosystems also include substantial com