Tag: Competition

Consent order settles charges that Cablevision's acquisition of certain cable operations in northern New Jersey and in New York from Tele-Communications Inc. would result in higher prices and lower quality of cable television services for residents of Paramus and Hillsdale, New Jersey. The settlement requires divestiture of TCI's cable systems in the two cities.

Shell Oil and Texaco settled allegations that their proposed joint venture would reduce competition and could raise prices for gasoline in Hawaii, California, and Washington and the price of asphalt in California. The consent order requires Shell to divest a package of assets, including Shell's Anacortes, Washington refinery; a terminal and retail gasoline stations in Oahu, Hawaii and retail gas stations, and a pipeline in California.

Consent order settles charges that Johnson's acquisition of Dow brands would adversely affect competition and potentially raise the prices consumers pay for soil and stain removers and glass cleaners. The consent order requires the divestiture of Dow's "Spray 'n Starch", "Spray 'n Wash", and "Glass Plus" businesses to Reckitt & Colrnan.

The complaint accompanying the proposed consent order alleged that the merger between Guinness and Grand Metropolitan PLC would eliminate substantial competition between the two firms in the sale and distribution of premium Scotch and premium gin in the U.S. The order requires the divestiture of Dewar's Scotch, Bombay gin, and Bombay Sapphire gin brands worldwide to acquirers pre-approved by the Commission.

Checkpoint Systems, Inc. and Sensormatic Electronics Corporation, the two largest marketers of electronic article surveillance systems used in retail stores to prevent shoplifting, agreed to nullify and void the section of their June 1993 agreement that restricts negative advertising and promotional claims about each other's products or services. The consent order also prohibits each firm from entering into any agreement that restricts truthful, non-deceptive advertising, comparative advertising or promotional and sales activities.

Consent order settles allegations that Urological Stone Surgeons, Parkside Kidney Stone Centers, Urological Services. Ltd and two physicians engaged in a price-fixing conspiracy to raise the price for professional urologist services for lithotripsy procedures in the Chicago metropolitan area. The complaint alleges that the parties agreed to use a common billing agent, established a uniform fee for lithotripsy services, prepared and distributed fee schedules, and negotiated contracts with third party payers on behalf of all urologists using the Parkside facility. The consent order prohibits such practices in the future and requires the parties to notify the Commission at least 45 days before forming or participating in an integrated joint venture to provide lithotripsy professional services.

TRW settled antitrust allegations stemming from its acquisition of BDM, a firm that provides, among other things, systems engineering and technical services (SETA) to the Department of Defense. TRW was part of one of two teams bidding for DOD'S Ballistic Missile Defense Organization's lead system integrator program. The acquisition would have placed TRW into BDM's role of SETA contractor whereby TRW could gain sensitive competitive information, including cost and bidding information, about its only other competitor for the program. According to the complaint issued with the consent order, this situation could have resulted in less aggressive bidding and higher prices for the leading system integrator program, or put TRW in a position to favor its own team by setting unfair procurement specifications or submitting unfair proposal or performance evaluations. The consent order requires TRW to divest the SETA contract to a Commission-approved acquirer.

Dow agreed to settle allegations that its acquisition of Sentrachem Limited would have substantially lessened competition for the research and manufacture of chelating agents (chemicals used in cleaners, pulp and paper, water treatment, photography, agriculture, food and pharmaceuticals to neutralize and inactivate metal ions) by combining two of the three U.S. producers of the product. The terms of the consent order require Dow to divest Sentrachem's U.S. chelant business to Akzo Novel N.V.

An administrative complaint charged that the 1995 acquisition of Autolnfo, Inc. created a monopoly and raised prices in the automobile salvage yard information management industry. A final order requires the divestiture of specific integrated computer systems for auto parts inventory exchange.

Final order settles allegations that Jitney-Jungle's acquisition of Delchamps, Inc. would substantially reduce competition among supermarket stores in the areas of Gulfport- Biloxi, Hattiesburg and Vicksburg, Mississippi. The consent order requires the divestiture of 10 supermarkets to Supervalu, Inc.

Insilco agreed to divest two aluminum tube mills acquired in its acquisition of Helima-Helvetion International, Inc. to settle antitrust concerns that the acquisition would substantially reduce competition in the markets for welded-seam aluminum radiator and charged air cooler tubing in North America.

Two separate consent orders settle antitrust concerns stemming from acquisitions by the Loewen Group of certain funeral homes and cemeteries that substantially reduced competition in Brownsville and Harlingen/San Benito, Texas, and in Castlewood, Virgina.  The orders require Loewen to divest properties in the three local markets to restore competition.