Transparency In Merger Enforcement: Second Request Timelines Remain High Despite Largely Positive Outcomes in Q3 2025

As noted in our last quarterly Agency Transparency In Merger Enforcement (TIME) Report, Second Request investigation timelines continue to tick upwards. The average duration of the two concluded Second Request investigations announced by the agencies was 13.1 months in Q3 2025, with both lasting more than 12.5 months. And the average duration for Second Request investigations that concluded without any agency statement was even higher, demonstrating that long timelines may be necessary even to achieve a positive result short of litigation.

In this quarterly supplement, we explore the latest trends in investigation activity announced by the antitrust agencies or publicly disclosed by merging parties. We also cover data recently released by the agencies that demonstrate how much Second Request activity is not covered by agency statements, highlighting the importance of looking at a broader range of public sources when evaluating deal risk. You can find insights from that broader range of sources in our latest Agency TIME Report.

Key Findings

• The most common outcome for Second Request investigations that closed in Q3 2025 was no agency action at all. The U.S. antitrust agencies only announced outcomes for two investigations: one complaint and one closing statement. But at least four other Second Request investigations previously disclosed by the parties closed quietly without any agency statement.
• The low proportion of agency-reported Second Request investigation outcomes this past quarter is consistent with the practice from the Biden administration in which agency statements covered an increasingly small share of Second Request investigations. New data in the agencies’ latest HSR Report to Congress for FY 2024 confirms that trend and highlights the importance of looking beyond agency press releases to get a better view of Second Request investigation activity.
• The absence of any merger settlements in Q3 2025 is somewhat curious after merger settlements made up 83% of outcomes announced by the agencies in Q2 2025 but, overall, consistent with the Trump administration’s pro-business philosophy. Yet statements from agency leadership continue to support and even encourage pragmatic merger settlements.
• The average duration of a Second Request investigation resulting in an agency press release continues to be high, perhaps owing to the carryover of a high number of Second Request investigations from the last administration. Together, the average duration in Q3 2025 was 13.1 months, with the sole agency reported outcome from each agency stretching more than 12.5 months. 
• Similarly, all but one of the Second Request investigations that closed without any agency statement in Q3 2025 were above 12.5 months. These observations align with our finding that investigations that do not result in enforcement actions increasingly have timelines close to those that do. Indeed, for Q3 2025, the average duration of investigations that closed without any agency action was a staggering 14.6 months—above the average for matters that resulted in enforcement. This higher average reinforces the importance of negotiating sufficient time in definitive papers to account for the duration of investigations.

Click here to view past reports.