Tag: Horizontal

Wine and spirits maker E. & J. Gallo Winery has agreed to divest several product lines and remove certain others from its asset purchase agreement with competitor Constellation Brands, Inc. to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that their proposed $1.7 billion transaction would violate federal antitrust law. The complaint alleges that unremedied, the proposed acquisition would eliminate head-to-head competition between Gallo and Constellation and thereby was likely to substantially lessen competition in the United States for six types of wine-and-spirits products: entry-level on-premise sparkling wine, low-priced sparkling wine, low-priced brandy, low-priced port, low-priced sherry, and high color concentrates.The FTC announced approval of the final order in April 2021.

The Federal Trade Commission has issued an administrative complaint and authorized an action to block the proposed merger of Jefferson Health and Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, two leading providers of inpatient general acute care hospital services and inpatient acute rehabilitation services in both Philadelphia County and Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The proposed merger would eliminate the robust competition between Jefferson and Einstein for inclusion in health insurance companies’ hospital networks to the detriment of patients. The Commission vote to issue the administrative complaint and to authorize staff to seek a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction was 4-0-1, with Chairman Joseph J. Simons recused.  The Commission vote to voluntarily dismiss its appeal to the Third Circuit of the district court decision declining to preliminarily enjoin the merger of Thomas Jefferson University and Albert Einstein Healthcare Network was 4-0.

Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer Inc. and Mylan N.V. have agreed to divest assets and abide by other conditions to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that the proposed combination of Upjohn Inc. and Mylan N.V. will harm current or future competition in ten generic drug markets. The FTC’s complaint alleges that the proposed combination would harm current U.S. competition in seven product markets by reducing the number of existing suppliers, and that it would harm future U.S. competition in three additional product markets. The proposed consent order requires divestitures in all 10 markets.

The Federal Trade Commission filed an administrative complaint  and authorized a suit in federal court to block The Procter & Gamble Company’s proposed acquisition of Billie, Inc., a direct-to-consumer company that began selling women’s razors and body care products in November 2017. The complaint alleged that the proposed acquisition would allow P&G, the market-leading supplier of both women’s and men’s wet shave razors, to buy Billie, a newer but expanding maker of women’s razors, and thereby eliminate growing competition that benefits consumers. On Jan. 5, 2021, the parties announced that they terminated their agreement for P&G to acquire Billie.

The Federal Trade Commission filed an administrative complaint and authorized a suit in federal court to block internet listing services provider CoStar Group Inc.’s proposed $587.5 million acquisition of competitor RentPath Holdings, Inc. The complaint alleged that the acquisition would significantly increase concentration in the already highly concentrated markets for internet listing services advertising for large apartment complexes in 49 individual metropolitan areas across the United States. On Dec. 31, 2020, the FTC issued a statement on the parties’ announcement that they had abandoned the acquisition.

The Federal Trade Commission filed an administrative complaint, and authorized a suit in federal court, to block the proposed $350 million acquisition by Memphis-based Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare of two Memphis-area hospitals, known as Saint Francis, owned by Dallas-based healthcare system Tenet Healthcare Corporation. The complaint alleges that the proposed acquisition would substantially lessen competition in the Memphis area for a broad range of inpatient medical and surgical diagnostic and treatment services that require an overnight hospital stay, known as inpatient general acute care services, sold to commercial insurers and their insured members.  According to the complaint, if the proposed acquisition is consummated, healthcare costs will rise, and the incentive to expand service offerings, invest in technology, improve access to care, and focus on quality of health care provided in the Memphis area will diminish. On Dec. 23, 2020, the parties announced that they were abandoning the acquisition.

The Federal Trade Commission required medical device companies Stryker Corp. and Wright Medical Group N.V. to divest all assets related to Stryker’s total ankle replacements and finger joint implant products to remedy concerns, as alleged in the complaint, that Stryker’s proposed $4 billion acquisition of Wright would harm competition in these two markets. Under the consent order, Stryker and Wright must divest all assets associated with Stryker’s total ankle replacements and finger joint implants to DJO Global, allowing it to become an independent, viable, and effective competitor in these markets.  After a period for public comment, the Commission issued its final order on December 11, 2020.