Displaying 1 - 20 of 584
FTC Acts to Protect Patients Who Rely on Medical Instruments Used in Sinus Procedures
Medtronic/Intersect, In the Matter of
The Federal Trade Commission required Medtronic, Inc. to divest a key subsidiary of Intersect ENT, Inc. as a condition of acquiring Intersect. Under the FTC consent decree, Instersect’s Fiagon subsidiary, which makes ear, nose, and throat navigation systems and balloon sinus dilation products, will be sold to Hemostasis, LLC. According to the complaint, without this divestiture, the acquisition would pose a threat to future competition in the United States for both ENT navigation systems and balloon sinus dilation products.
Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC/Custopharm, Inc.; Analysis of Agreement Containing Consent Orders To Aid Public Comment
American Securities Partners/Ferro, In the Matter of
The Federal Trade Commission has required Prince International Corp. and Ferro Corp. to divest three facilities used to make porcelain enamel frit, glass enamel, and forehearth colorants, as a condition of Prince’s parent company – American Securities Partners VII, L.P. – acquiring competitor Ferro Corp. for $2.1 billion. According to the complaint, the acquisition as proposed likely would allow the merged firm to unilaterally raise prices for porcelain enamel frit in the North American market, and for forehearth colorants in the world market. It also would eliminate Prince as an independent competitor in the world market for glass enamel, increasing the likelihood of coordination between the merged firm and its largest competitor, Fenzi Holdings SPV S.p.A.
FTC Requires Prince and Ferro to Sell Off Three Facilities amid Concerns that Deal would Increase Concentration in North American Market for Porcelain Enamel Frit
Federal Trade Commission Preserves Competition for Development and Marketing of Steroid Injectable Drug
Hikma Pharmaceuticals/Custopharm
As a condition of Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC’s $375 million acquisition of generic drug services company Custopharm, Inc., the Federal Trade Commission required Custopharm’s parent company, private equity fund Water Street Healthcare Partners, LLC to retain and transfer Custopharm’s assets related to the corticosteroid drug triamcinolone acetonide, or TCA, to another company Water Street owns, Long Grove Pharmaceuticals, LLC. According to the complaint, absent a remedy, Hikma likely would have stopped developing its injectable TCA product, forestalling the increased price competition it would have brought to the market. Thus without this remedy, the acquisition likely would have harmed future competition in the U.S. market for injectable triamcinolone acetonide.
Altria Group/JUUL Labs, In the Matter of
The Federal Trade Commission filed an administrative complaint alleging that Altria Group, Inc. and JUUL Labs, Inc. entered a series of agreements, including Altria’s acquisition of a 35% stake in JUUL, that eliminated competition in violation of federal antitrust laws. According to the complaint, this series of agreements involved Altria ceasing to compete in the U.S. market for closed-system electronic cigarettes in return for a substantial ownership interest in JUUL, by far the dominant player in that market. In an initial decision announced on Feb. 24, 2022, Chief Administrative Law Judge D. Michael Chappell dismissed the antitrust charges in the complaint.
EnCap/EP Energy; Analysis of Agreement Containing Consent Orders To Aid Public Comment
EnCap/EP Energy, In the Matter of
The Federal Trade Commission will require the divestiture of energy producer EP Energy Corp.’s entire business and assets in Utah. The divestiture will resolve the agency’s allegations that EnCap Energy Capital Fund XI, L.P.’s proposed $1.445 billion acquisition of EP Energy Corp. would eliminate head-to-head competition between two of only four significant producers and otherwise harm competition for the sale of Uinta Basin waxy crude oil to Salt Lake City refiners. According to the complaint, the proposed acquisition could also increase the likelihood of collusion or coordination among the remaining competitors in the Uinta Basin.
FTC Requires ENCAP to Sell Off EP Energy Corp.'s Entire Utah Oil Business amid Concerns that Deal would Increase Pain at the Pump
Statement of Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Competition Deputy Director John M. Newman on Federal Appeals Court Ruling Affirming Preliminary Injunction to Halt Merger of New Jersey Hospital Networks
FTC Approves Final Order Imposing Divestitures and Protecting Retail Fuel Customers following Global Partners LP’s Acquisition of Wheels
Statement Regarding Termination of Attempted Merger of Rhode Island’s Two Largest Healthcare Providers
Lifespan/CNE, In the Matter of
The Federal Trade Commission authorized an administrative complaint, and a suit in federal court blocking the proposed merger of Rhode Island’s two largest healthcare providers. The agency alleged the deal would lead to higher prices and lower quality care. The FTC, jointly with the Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General, filed a complaint in federal district court seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to stop the deal and to maintain the status quo pending an administrative trial on the merits of the case. On March 2, 2022, the Commission issued a statement regarding the parties’ decision to abandon the transaction.
Administrative Law Judge Dismisses FTC Antitrust Complaint against Altria Group and JUUL Labs, Inc.
FTC Approves Modifications to Boston Scientific Corp. Divestiture Agreement
Boston Scientific and BTG, In the Matter of
Medical device company Boston Scientific Corp. agreed to divest certain assets to Varian Medical Systems to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that Boston Scientific’s proposed $4.2 billion acquisition of medical equipment and pharmaceutical supplier BTG plc would violate federal antitrust law. According to the complaint, Boston Scientific’s acquisition of BTG would harm consumers in the U.S. market for drug eluting beads, or DEBs, which are microscopic beads used to treat certain liver cancers. Interventional radiologists use DEBs, combined with chemotherapy drugs, in a procedure called transarterial chemoembolization. Under the proposed settlement agreement, Boston Scientific was required to divest to Varian its DEB business, as well as its bland bead product line. Bland beads are used in another type of procedure to block the flow of blood to a liver tumor. On Feb. 18, 2022, the Commission announced modifications to the divestiture agreement with Boston Scientific Corp.