The Talent Trap: Acqui-Hires and Non-Competes from an Antitrust Perspective

Competition authorities worldwide have shown an increasing interest in labor markets in recent years. Historically, they have focused on three anti-competitive practices in labor markets: no-poach agreements, wage-fixing agreements, and information sharing. In the last two years, however, there has been increasing attention on “acqui-hiring” – which refers to the practice of acquiring companies for the primary aim of hiring their employees, or outright hires of multiple employees from the