Damitt, here's a timeline for that merger investigation

It's a safe bet that at least a few corporate executives in the crosshairs of government antitrust investigations have unleashed a string of epithets on learning of their predicament.

Now, antitrust lawyers at Dechert LLP, the global transactional law firm based in University City, are offering a service that monitors antitrust enforcement. It's dubbed the Dechert Anti-Trust Merger Investigation Timing Tracker, or Damitt, reflecting that frustration.

Those investigations are always a big worry for companies seeking to expand by acquiring competitors or like businesses, and, according to Dechert, the news is not pleasant.

In the first three quarters of 2016, Dechert says, there were 24 significant merger investigations, and if they continue at that pace, last year's record of 37 would be surpassed. Meantime, the length of investigations now is one-third longer than it was just a few years ago.

"They are sending out a strong message on enforcement, and the data from Damitt confirm that they are doing what they say they are doing," said Paul Denis, a Dechert antitrust partner and deputy chair of the firm's global litigation practice group, who devised the tracking system. "They are filing more complaints; they are not kidding."

The Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Departments are the main agencies charged with antitrust enforcement.

The FTC said it could offer no one explanation for the uptick in investigations or the increasing amount of time those probes are taking. But the agency said the time it takes to conclude a probe often is determined by the companies themselves.

A company's speed in responding to requests for documents and other information or, in cases where regulators require divestiture, how quickly a buyer is brought to the table, can easily determine the pace of the investigation.

"Merger analysis and investigations are fact-specific; thus it is hard to draw conclusions from looking at a few dozen transactions each year on an aggregated basis," the FTC said. "But it is important to note the following: Timing is in the hands of the parties to a significant extent."

Still, in the face of a boom in M&A activity, the Obama administration has made clear that it will intensify scrutiny of corporate transactions. In one of its most notable enforcement actions, Comcast called off a bid to merge with Time Warner Cable after a 14-month government review amid concerns the merged company would use its internet dominance to freeze out competitors.

In April, President Obama signed an executive order saying that increased antitrust enforcement would enhance competition and calling on government agencies to intensify scrutiny of suspected anticompetitive activities such as price-fixing.

At the same time, the President's Council of Economic Advisers issued a report finding that an increase in M&A activity was consolidating more economic power in the hands of fewer companies, and it touted enforcement actions that blocked anticompetitive transactions.

Firms engaged in a merger or acquisition deal valued at $78 million or more are obligated to file with the Justice Department and the FTC under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976. The vast majority of deals are waved through. But in deals where the government suspects the merged company will restrict competitors or stifle suppliers, the ensuing investigation can be costly and time-consuming.

Denis said the longer a probe lasts, the greater the likelihood a deal will collapse.

One reason Denis created the service: Clients typically ask at the outset of an enforcement action how long it will take.

He realized that while lawyers at the firm were able to give a ballpark answer, they had never examined the issue systematically. They now include in their database all government enforcement actions in which there has been a public filing or statement of some kind.

Now that they have that information, he said, they've been able to tell clients a bit more about what they are up against.

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