Overlapping Directors can Pose Risk for Tech Firms

The recent departure of Alphabet Inc.’s chief legal officer from Uber Technologies Inc.’s board highlights how a little-noticed prohibition against interlocking directorates can cause problems for technology firms and private equity groups. Enforcement of the Clayton Act Section 8 prohibition against interlocking directorates among competitors is infrequent. But the threat that private plaintiffs might use overlaps to support a Sherman Act conspiracy claim means companies must be careful, particularly as increasing tech market complexity and growing private equity investment increase the risk of unnoticed interlocks, antitrust practitioners said.