Competition Mission
Order Modifications
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Title |
Number |
Action Date |
Type of Matter |
Product/Service |
| Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation | C3619 | 7/14/97 | Horizontal Merger | Inpatient Hospital Services |
| Commemorative Brands, Inc. | C3701 | 7/21/97 | Horizontal Merger | Commemorative Rings |
| Compagnie de Saint-Gobain | C3673 | 11/19/96 | Horizontal Merger | Refractories and Hot Surface Igniters |
| Del Monte Foods Company | C3569 | 10/31/96 | Horizontal Merger | Canned Fruit |
| Geon Company, The | D9159 | 12/12/96 | Horizontal Merger | Chemicals |
| HealthSouth Corporation | C3570 | 10/01/96 | Horizontal Merger | Rehabilitation Hospital Facilities |
| (Home Oxygen and Medical Equipment Company) | C3530 | 10/01/96 | Single-Firm Violation | In-Home Oxygen |
| Oerlikon-Burhle Holding AG | C3555 | 9/09/97 | Horizontal Merger | Turbomolecular Pumps, Compact Disc Metallizers |
| Onkyo U.S.A. Corporation | C3092 | 10/24/96 | Distributional Restraints | Audio Components |
| Penn Traffic Company, The | C3577 | 1/10/97 | Horizontal Merger | Supermarkets |
| Schwegmann Giant Super Markets, Inc. | C3584 | 2/24/97 | Horizontal Merger | Supermarkets |
| Stop & Shop Companies, Inc., The | C3649 | 6/20/97 | Horizontal Merger | Supermarkets |
1A company name shown in parentheses is for identification of the case only.
Order Modifications
Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation
The Commission granted the petition of Columbia/HCA to modify a 1995 consent order that settled antitrust concerns stemming from the acquisition of Healthtrust, Inc. - The Hospital Company. The consent order was modified ending Columbia/HCA's obligation to divest a commercial lease for office space, which Columbia had mistakenly represented to the Commission was part of its Pioneer Valley Hospital assets in West Valley City, Utah.
Commemorative Brands, Inc. (formerly Class Rings, Inc.); Castle Harlan Partners II, L.P.
The Commission granted the petition of Commemorative Brands to set aside a provision barring it from employing any person employed during 1996 by Gold Lance, Inc., or Town & Country Corporation, competitors in the market for the manufacture and distribution of commemorative class rings purchased by high school and college students. The 1997 consent order settled allegations that the proposed merger of Class Rings, Town & Country, and Castle Harlan would have increased the likelihood of coordinated interaction and led to higher prices in the market; however, the market conditions for that order changed after the order was made final. Gold Lance, formerly owned by Town & Country, was sold to Jostens, Inc. Keeping the order provision would have had the unintended effect of precluding Commemorative Brands from competing against Gold Lance's new owner for experienced, skilled employees.
Compagnie de Saint-Gobain; The Carborundum Company; Saint-Gobain/Norton Industrial Ceramics Corporation
The Commission granted a petition of Compagnie de Saint-Gobain, and its U.S. subsidiary, Saint-Gobain/Norton, to modify a 1996 consent order settling allegations stemming from Compagnie de Saint-Gobain's acquisition of Carborundum. The modified order allows knowledgeable managers and officers of Carborundum to serve on the boards or management committees of the separately held businesses.
Del Monte Foods Company
The Commission granted in part a petition from Del Monte to modify a 1995 consent order by ending the company's obligation to obtain Commission approval before making certain acquisitions or entering into certain marketing agreements. Consistent with the Commission's policy, announced in June 1995, to reduce the burden on companies while still protecting consumers, in place of prior approval, the Commission substituted a prior notice requirement for certain acquisitions. The consent order settled allegations that supply agreements between Del Monte and Pacific Coast Producers eliminated Pacific Coast as a substantial and direct competitor to Del Monte in the canned fruit business.
The Geon Company (successor to B.F. Goodrich)
The Commission granted a petition from Geon to modify a 1989 consent order against The B.F. Goodrich Company and deleted the requirement that Goodrich and its successors obtain Commission approval before acquiring certain vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) assets. The order had settled an administrative complaint that alleged that Goodrich's acquisition of the VCM business of Diamond Shamrock Chemical Company could lessen competition in the production of polyvinyl chloride and vinyl chloride monomer materials used to make plastics. The Commission's modification was consistent with its policy, announced in June 1995, to reduce the burden on companies while still protecting consumers.
HealthSouth Corporation
(successor to HealthSouth Rehabilitation Corporation) The Commission granted the petition of HealthSouth, ending its obligation to obtain Commission approval before merging any of its rehabilitation hospital facilities with competing facilities in three areas of South Carolina and Tennessee. The order had required prior notification of such acquisitions. The 1995 order settled antitrust concerns stemming from the merger of HealthSouth Rehabilitation and ReLife, Inc., two rehabilitation hospital facilities. The Commission's modification was consistent with its policy, announced in June 1995, to reduce the burden on companies while still protecting consumers. (Home Oxygen and Medical Equipment Company)
John E. Sailer, M.D.
The Commission granted the petition of John E. Sailer, M.D., to reopen and modify a 1994 consent order accepted with 11 pulmonologists and their Home Oxygen and Medical Equipment joint venture. The order was modified by relieving Sailer, who has now retired, of all obligations under the consent order. The Commission had alleged that the joint venture would create a barrier to others who might provide oxygen to patients' homes, thus reducing competition and risking higher consumer prices.
Oerlikon-Buhrle Holding AG
The Commission granted a petition from Oerlikon-Buhrle to modify a 1995 consent order to replace a requirement that the firm obtain prior Commission approval until February 2005 before acquiring certain assets used in the manufacture and distribution of turbomolecular pumps or compact disc metallizers. A provision requiring Oerlikon to give the Commission prior notice was substituted for the prior approval provision. The Commission's modification was consistent with its policy, announced in June 1995, to reduce the burden on companies while still protecting consumers.
Onkyo U.S.A. Corporation
The Commission granted in part and denied in part a petition from Onkyo to modify a 1982 consent order. The modified consent order permits the company to implement price-restrictive cooperative advertising programs and to unilaterally terminate a dealer for failing to adhere to previously announced resale prices. The Commission denied Onkyo's request to end the firm's obligation to furnish copies of the order to certain employees and to terminate the order in the year 2002 rather than 20 years after a 1995 consent judgment was entered for allegedly violating the consent order.
The Penn Traffic Company
The Commission granted the petition of Penn Traffic and modified a consent order ending the firm's obligation to divest one of its two supermarkets in Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania. The divestiture was one of three required under a 1995 consent order that had settled antitrust concerns stemming from the acquisition of 45 retail grocery stores in Pennsylvania and New York from Acme Markets, Inc. The Commission found that new supermarket entrants into the area eliminated the need for the divestiture.
Schwegmann Giant Super Markets, Inc.
The Commission granted a petition of Schwegmann to reopen and modify a 1995 consent order that had settled allegations stemming from the acquisition of supermarkets in New Orleans, Louisiana. The order was modified by replacing the provision requiring that Schwegmann receive prior Commission approval before acquiring retail grocery stores in the New Orleans metropolitan area with a provision requiring prior Commission notice before such transactions. The Commission's modification was consistent with its policy, announced in June 1995, to reduce the burden on companies while still protecting consumers.
The Stop & Shop Companies, Inc.
The Commission granted a petition from Stop & Shop and deleted divestiture requirements for two Purity Supreme supermarkets in Massachusetts. Stop & Shop presented evidence that changed conditions, including the entry of new supermarkets in Brookline and Roslindale, rendered the two Purity Supreme stores unsalable. The 1996 consent order had settled allegations that Stop & Shop's merger with Purity Supreme, Inc., would substantially reduce competition and lead to higher prices in several markets in Massachusetts.