Merger Matters

Christine Varney, the head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division, is heading to the private sector – with a new gig as an expert on mergers.

Varney oversaw the antitrust division when it allowed the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster as well as Comcast-NBC. In September, Varney will join law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore, which helped advise Johnson & Johnson in its $21.3 billion acquisition of Synthes among other mergers, according to the New York Times.

The move follows that of FCC commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker who, after expressing in public that she was disappointed that FCC was delaying the Comcast-NBC merger, took off to join the lobbying team for Comcast in May, according to The Atlantic.