Boeing, Mcdonnell Deal Faces Ftc Review

The Federal Trade Commission is going to review the merger between Boeing Co. and McDonnell Douglas Corp., Attorney General Janet Reno said Thursday.

Both the commission and the Justice Department’s antitrust division have jurisdiction to review mergers. They negotiate to decide which will handle each merger and often both agencies are interested in handling large, high-profile mergers. The decision usually is based on which agency has more expertise with the industry involved.

“My understanding is that the FTC will handle that,” Reno said when asked about the merger review at her weekly news conference.

Seattle-based Boeing said last month it would pay $13.34 billion in stock for McDonnell Douglas, based in St. Louis.