Key Takeaways
- • Second Request merger review timelines have declined materially in the first half of 2026, falling below 10 months on average for investigations with published agency outcomes—a reduction of more than two months from historic highs exceeding 12 months in 2025.
- • The Trump administration's targeted review process announced in July 2025 is delivering measurable progress, with Second Request investigations concluding without agency statements averaging approximately eight months, roughly consistent with Q4 2025 performance.
- • The agencies have shifted toward settlement-friendly policies, marking a departure from the previous administration's approach and providing material relief for dealmakers pursuing strategic transactions.
- • Akin's Transparency in Merger Enforcement (TIME) data captures a more complete enforcement picture by including unpublished Second Request investigations alongside public agency outcomes, revealing trends not visible in official DOJ statements alone.
Summary
Merger review timelines are contracting meaningfully in 2026 after an extended period of regulatory friction. The Trump administration's antitrust leadership has prioritized streamlining Second Request investigations—the extended phase of Hart-Scott-Rodino review that typically signals competitive concerns—and data from Akin's Transparency in Merger Enforcement report demonstrate tangible results through the first half of 2026. Average timelines for Second Request investigations resulting in published agency outcomes have fallen below 10 months, representing a notable improvement from the elevated 12-month-plus averages recorded just one year prior.
The timeline compression reflects both procedural reforms and substantive policy shifts. In July 2025, the DOJ announced new targeted review processes explicitly designed to accelerate extended merger reviews. More significantly, the agencies have signaled openness to merger settlements—a marked reversal from the posture of the preceding administration, which disfavored negotiated resolutions. This philosophical realignment carries direct implications for deal dynamics: settlements typically resolve competitive concerns more expeditiously than protracted Second Request investigations or formal enforcement actions.
Akin's dataset provides institutional investors and dealmakers with enhanced transparency relative to published agency statements. The TIME report supplements official DOJ and FTC disclosures with information voluntarily disclosed by merging parties, capturing Second Request investigations that agencies do not formally publish. This fuller accounting reveals that investigations concluding without agency statements averaged approximately eight months in the first half of 2026, comparable to Q4 2025 results. The divergence between the two outcome categories—investigations with published statements averaging just under 10 months versus those without averaging roughly eight months—suggests a differentiated enforcement approach tied to resolution mechanisms and deal complexity.
For institutional capital evaluating M&A opportunities, these trends signal a material reduction in regulatory friction costs. The combination of accelerated timelines and settlement-receptive agencies creates a more predictable environment for deal execution, potentially broadening the universe of strategically viable transactions that can reach reasonable certainty within typical funding and operational windows.
The timeline compression reflects both procedural reforms and substantive policy shifts. In July 2025, the DOJ announced new targeted review processes explicitly designed to accelerate extended merger reviews. More significantly, the agencies have signaled openness to merger settlements—a marked reversal from the posture of the preceding administration, which disfavored negotiated resolutions. This philosophical realignment carries direct implications for deal dynamics: settlements typically resolve competitive concerns more expeditiously than protracted Second Request investigations or formal enforcement actions.
Akin's dataset provides institutional investors and dealmakers with enhanced transparency relative to published agency statements. The TIME report supplements official DOJ and FTC disclosures with information voluntarily disclosed by merging parties, capturing Second Request investigations that agencies do not formally publish. This fuller accounting reveals that investigations concluding without agency statements averaged approximately eight months in the first half of 2026, comparable to Q4 2025 results. The divergence between the two outcome categories—investigations with published statements averaging just under 10 months versus those without averaging roughly eight months—suggests a differentiated enforcement approach tied to resolution mechanisms and deal complexity.
For institutional capital evaluating M&A opportunities, these trends signal a material reduction in regulatory friction costs. The combination of accelerated timelines and settlement-receptive agencies creates a more predictable environment for deal execution, potentially broadening the universe of strategically viable transactions that can reach reasonable certainty within typical funding and operational windows.
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