Senior M&A Partner Frank Aquila and associate Catherine Yuh co-authored “The Regulatory Minefield: How Approval Conditions Shape M&A” for the April 2026 edition of The M&A Lawyer.
The article highlights a shift in regulatory practice, with recent FCC deal approvals imposing conditions tied to company-wide governance, rather than traditional transaction-related remedies. This approach brings internal policy decisions into the approval process and expands the factors that can affect deal outcomes.
As a result, governance decisions may be considered not only in terms of long-term objectives, but also in regard to their effect on securing approval specific deals. “Regulatory approvals in the M&A context occur on a transaction-by-transaction basis, allowing governance-related conditions to be raised and resolved without the formality or visibility associated with rulemaking or broad policy statements,” they write.
Looking ahead, the authors observe that “for boards and their advisors, regulatory approval is a point at which governance considerations and deal execution intersect. … Advance preparation helps ensure that governance decisions reflect informed judgment rather than transactional constraint.”
Download the article.