Legal Library: Cases and Proceedings

Degussa agreed to restructure a proposed transaction to acquire only one hydrogen peroxide production plant from E. I. Dupont de Numbers & Co., to obtain prior Commission approval before acquiring certain other Dupont production plants and to notify the Commission of its attempts to acquire hydrogen peroxide facilities in specific areas. Originally, Degussa had planned to acquire all of Dupont's hydrogen peroxide facilities in North America.

The FTC charged that Stone Container Corporation, the world's leading manufacturer of linerboard, violated the antitrust laws by attempting to orchestrate an industry-wide price increase. According to the FTC, in both private conversations and public statements the executives of Stone Container signaled their intention to take mill downtime and reduce industry-wide inventories and their belief that doing so would build support for a price increase. According to the FTC complaint, the actions and statements constituted an invitation by Stone to its competitors to join a coordinated price increase. If accepted, the invitation would result in higher prices, reduced output and consumer injury, the complaint alleges.The FTC alleged that, following a failed attempt to increase the price it charged for linerboard in 1993, Stone Container temporarily shut down production at its own mills and bought up competitors' excess inventory as part of an intentional effort to build industry support for a price increase. The agreement to settle the FTC charges bars Stone Container from urging any competitor to raise or fix the price charged for linerboard.

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.

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.

Consent order settles charges that the proposed acquisition of Solvay, S.A.'s animal health business would reduce competition in the market for the research, development, manufacture and sale of canine lyme vaccine, canine corona virus vaccine, and feline leukemia vaccine. The order requires divestiture of Solvay's U.S. and Canadian rights to the three types of vaccines to the Schering-Plough Corporation or another Commission-approved buyer.