Tag: Competition

The consent order settled charges that Buckeye's proposed acquisition of five refined petroleum products pipelines and 24 petroleum products terminals in the United States from Shell Oil Company would reduce competition in the market for the terminaling of gasoline, diesel fuel, and other light petroleum products in the area of Niles, Michigan. Buckeye agreed to notify the Commission before acquiring any interest in the Niles petroleum terminal for a period of ten years.

The consent order settled antitrust concerns that Sanofi's proposed $64 billion acquisition of Aventis would create significant overlaps in several markets for pharmaceutical products while creating the world's third largest pharmaceutical company. Under terms of the consent order, Sanofi must: 1) divest its Arixtra factor Xa inhibitor to GlaxoSmithKline, plc; 2) divest its key clinical studies for the Campto® cytotoxic colorectal cancer treatment to Pfizer, Inc. and 3) divest Aventis' contractual rights to the Estorra insomnia drug either to Sepracor, Inc. or to another Commission-approved buyer.

The Virginia Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers settled charges that it prohibited Virginia funeral directors and service providers from engaging in truthful advertising that would inform consumers of prices and discounts for funeral products and services. Under terms of the consent order, the Board is prohibited from engaging in such practices in the future and is required to amend its regulation prohibiting Board licensees from advertising funeral services including those services that can be contracted prior to the death of the person whose funeral is being planned.

With an administrative complaint issued on December 22, 2003 the Commission charged Piedmont Health Alliance, Inc. with collectively setting prices it demanded for physician services with third party payers. According to the complaint, the physician-hospital organization entered into signed agreements on behalf of its member physicians to participate in all contracts negotiated and to accept the negotiated physician fees. The complaint further alleges that these practices eliminated price competition among physicians in the North Carolina counties of Alexander, Burke, Caldwell and Catawba. The complaint also names ten individual physicians who participated in the alleged price fixing services. On August 10, 2004, the organization and physicians agreed to settle charges. Also refer to settlement entered with Tenet Healthcare Corporation (Frye Regional Medical Center, Inc.).

A consent order allowed GenCorp Inc. to acquire Atlantic Research Corporation while requiring the divestiture of Atlantic’s in-space liquid propulsion business within six months of consummating the transaction. According to the complaint issued with the consent order, the transaction as originally planned would have lessened competition in the United States in four different types of in-space propulsion engines: monopropellant thrusters; bipropellant apogee thrusters; dual mode apogee thrusters; and biopropellant attitude control thrusters.

The consent order, designed to preserve competition in the market for the manufacture and sale of mobile radio frequency automatic meter reading technologies for electric utilities in the United States, permitted Itron's $255 million acquisition of Schlumberger Electricity, Inc. The consent order requires Itron to grant a royalty-free, perpetual, and irrevocable license to Hunt Technologies, Inc., creating an effective competitor in this market that allows utility companies and others to gather electric consumption data automatically and remotely from electricity meters.