Preliminary Injunctions
Competition Mission

Competition Mission (Summary)

Competition Mission (Detail)

Blodgett Memorial Medical Center; Butterworth Hospital

The Commission filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to block the proposed merger of Blodgett Memorial Medical Center and Butterworth Hospital, the two largest hospitals in Grand Rapids, Michigan, alleging that the merger would substantially reduce competition for general acute care inpatient hospital services in the area. On September 26, 1996, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, Southern Division, denied the Commission's request for an injunction. The Commission has appealed the denial of the request for an injunction to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Questar Corporation

Questar abandoned its plans to acquire a 50-percent ownership interest in Kern River Gas Transmission Company after the Commission filed a motion in federal district court for a preliminary injunction to bar the transaction. According to the complaint, the consummation of the acquisition would give Questar control over the transmission of natural gas to industrial customers in the Salt Lake City area, which would reduce competition between the two firms and lead to higher prices. The court dismissed the case without prejudice.

Rite Aid Corporation; Revco D.S., Inc.

Rite Aid abandoned its proposed $1.8 billion acquisition of Revco after the Commission voted to seek a preliminary injunction in federal court to block the transaction. The Commission was set to charge that the merger of the two largest retail drug store chains in the United States would substantially reduce competition for prescription drugs sold in retail pharmacy outlets in numerous geographic areas. Rite Aid withdrew its tender offer before the Commission could file its motion in court.

Back to table of contents