Final answer:
The FTC conditionally approved the Kinder Morgan / El Paso Corporation merger, requiring divestiture in areas of significant overlap to prevent market power concentration.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question pertains to the role of government and regulatory bodies like the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in overseeing mergers and acquisitions to ensure a balance between corporate growth and market competition. Specifically, the FTC's decision on the Kinder Morgan / El Paso Corporation merger involved careful scrutiny of the potential market impact.
Federal officials approved the merger on the condition that Kinder Morgan divest certain assets where there was significant overlap, mitigating concerns about excessive market power. The acquisition of these assets by Tallgrass was a stipulation set by the FTC to maintain a competitive balance.