Tag: Competition

Associated Octel settled charges that its acquisition of Oboadler Company would eliminate direct competition and raise prices in the highly concentrated market for the manufacture and sale of lead antiknock compounds. Under terms of the order, Octel agreed to supply Oboadler's current distributor, Allchem Industries, Inc., with lead antiknock compounds for resale in the United States for 15 years.

Fresenius AG settled charges that its purchase of rival dialysis provider Renal Care Group, Inc. would likely have resulted in higher prices for dialysis services. The consent order requires that Fresenius AG will sell 91 outpatient kidney dialysis clinics and financial interests in 12 more.

Consent order permits the acquisition of MAPCO, Inc. but requires Williams to lease its pipeline to Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, a terminal competitor of MAPCO, to ensure that Kinder Morgan can continue to exist as an independent competitor in the transportation and terminaling of propane in certain Midwest markets. Under terms of the consent order Williams agreed to connect its Wyoming gas processing plant to any new competing pipeline in the future.

Final consent order requiring the restructuring of the acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. settles antitrust concerns that the acquisition would restrict competition in cable television programming and distribution. The order requires Tele-Communications, Inc., the nation's number one cable operator, to divest its interests in Turner; reduces contractual agreements between TCI, Turner and Time Warner to carry certain programming; reduces opportunities for bundling programming; prohibits price discrimination against competing cable systems; and requires Time Warner's cable systems to carry a rival news channel to compete with CNN.

The consent order protects competition in three medical device product markets affected by Johnson & Johnson’s proposed $25.4 billion acquisition of Guidant Corporation. Under the terms of the order, J&J is required to 1) grant to a third party a 6 fully paid-up, non-exclusive, irrevocable license, enabling that third party to make and sell drug eluting stents with the Rapid Exchange delivery system, 2) divest to a third party J&J’s endoscopic vessel harvesting product line, and 3) end its agreement to distribute Novare Surgical System, Inc.’s proximal anastomotic assist device. On May 31st, 2006 the Commission granted a petition filed by Johnson and Johnson Corporation, requesting that the FTC reopen and set aside the entire decision and order concerning the proposed acquisition of Guidant Corporation.

Nestle settled antitrust charges that its $10.3 billion proposed acquisition of Ralston Purina Company would substantially lessen competition in the United States market for dry cat food through the elimination of direct competition between the two firms and increase the likelihood that the combined firm could unilaterally exercise market power. The order requires the divestiture of Ralston's Meow Mix and Alley Cat brands to J.W. Childs Equity Partners II,L.P.

Valassis, a leading producer of free-standing newspaper inserts in the United States, has settled charges that it violated Section 5 of the FTC Act by attempting to collude with News America Marketing, its only rival, to eliminate competition between the two companies. During a conference call with industry analysts, a Valassis executive invited NewsAmerica to join in a scheme to allocate customers and fix prices in order to end an ongoing price war between the two companies. Under the consent order settling the FTC’s complaint, Valassis is barred from engaging in or inviting collusive agreements with other publishers or attempting to collude with its competitors.