Staff antitrust lawyers at the U.S. Justice Department are opposed to Whirlpool Corp.’s proposed acquisition of rival Maytag Corp., and a final decision about whether to block the deal could be weeks away, a source close to the matter said on Friday
Lawyers in the department’s antitrust division “have made it clear” to the department’s antitrust chief, Thomas Barnett, that they believe the $1.7 billion deal would hurt competition, the source said. However, Barnett has not yet made his decision on whether to challenge the acquisition.