Not directly but consumer welfare is the central concern of American anti-trust laws, buying out a competitor would presumably be blocked if the post-transactio

Not directly but consumer welfare is the central concern of American anti-trust laws, buying out a competitor would presumably be blocked if the post-transaction firm would have greater power over consumers. IIRC, the sprint/t mobile deal was blocked because the resultant firm would probably have been in a situation where it could have harmed consumer welfare. on the other hand, the Bush and Obama regulators didn't stop any of the airline or tech consolidation so who knows how much that regulatory body is captured.