U.S. Regulators Clear Agilent Technologies Acquisition of Advanced Analytical Technologies, Inc.

In March 2018, Agilent Technologies announced plans to acquire Advanced Analytical Technologies, Inc. (AATI). Both Agilent and AATI sell products that analyze the quality and quantity of nucleic acid fragments. A Compass Lexecon team provided economic analysis in support of the transaction, providing evidence that the two parties generally sold to different sets of customers, that pricing by the parties did not depend on competition with each other, and that the parties’ prices were constrained by a myriad of other options available to their customers. After engaging with antitrust authorities, Agilent Technologies obtained U.S. clearance in May 2018. The Washington, DC-based Compass Lexecon team was led by Bryan Keating and included Chris Rybak, Alyson Matthews and John Hassett. Compass Lexecon worked closely with a legal team from Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP that was led by Mark W. Nelson, Grant A. Bermann, Karen O’Neill Ocasio and Jeanne-Paloma Zelmati.