Markets Wired

Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved a final order settling charges that Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Company’s 2010 purchase of Star Pipe Products, Inc.’s cast iron soil pipe (CISP) business was anticompetitive.  The order prohibits Charlotte Pipe from enforcing a confidentiality and non-compete agreement with Star Pipe, requires Charlotte Pipe to send a letter to its distributors disclosing its prior acquisitions of other CISP firms, and requires Charlotte Pipe, for a period of ten years, to notify the Commission before making future acquisitions in this industry.  The order also requires Charlotte Pipe to publish the Commission’s Decision and Order, Complaint, and Press Release on its official web site.   

The Commission vote approving the final settlement order with Charlotte Pipe was 4-0. The order can be found on the FTC’s website and as a link to this press release. (FTC File No. 111 0034, Docket No. 565020; the staff contact is William L. Lanning, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-3361.)