On Tuesday, October 2, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission will host a workshop to examine the ways pet medications are distributed to consumers, and how these practices affect consumer choice and price competition. It is estimated that 62 percent of American households own a pet, and that pet owners in the United States spend nearly […]
Tag Archives: Competition
FTC Closes Its Investigation Into Sony/ATV Music Publishing’s Proposed Acquisition of EMI Music Publishing
The Federal Trade Commission has closed its nonpublic investigation of Sony/ATV Music Publishing’s proposed acquisition of EMI Music Publishing, without taking any action. Accordingly, the deal may now proceed as proposed. The Commission vote to close the investigation was 5-0. The closing letters to the companies can be found on the FTC’s website and as […]
FTC Puts Conditions on Konkinlijke Ahold’s Acquisition of Genuardi’s Supermarkets
The Federal Trade Commission will require Koninklijke Ahold N.V., the parent company of Giant Food Stores, LLC, to sell a supermarket outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to settle charges that its proposed acquisition of the Genuardi’s supermarket chain from Safeway Inc. otherwise would be anticompetitive. To preserve competition in the local grocery market, Ahold will sell […]
FTC Approves FY 2011 HSR Premerger Notification Report Showing 24 Percent Increase in Filings Compared to FY 2010
The Federal Trade Commission, with the concurrence of the Department of Justice’s Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust, released the agencies’ fiscal year 2011 report on their review of mergers under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Premerger Notification Program. The report shows that the number of transactions reported to the agencies grew by 24 percent – from 1,166 […]
FTC Staff: Proposed North Carolina Dental Services Law Would Likely Reduce the Benefits of Competition for Consumers
Federal Trade Commission staff, in response to a request from North Carolina Representative Stephen LaRoque, stated that a bill proposed in the North Carolina legislature would likely deny consumers seeking dental services in North Carolina the benefits of competition, including the potential for lower prices, expanded access to dental services, and greater choice. North Carolina […]
Commission Approves Filing of Joint Amicus Brief with DOJ on Direct Purchaser Antitrust Issues
The Commission has approved the filing of a joint amicus brief with the U.S. Department of Justice in the matter of Ritz Camera & Image, LLC v. SanDisk Corporation, No. 12-1183 (Fed. Cir.). The case concerns whether the Federal Circuit should affirm the district court’s holding that the appellee, a direct purchaser of the defendant’s […]
FTC Places Conditions on CoStar’s $860 Million Acquisition of LoopNet
The Federal Trade Commission will require CoStar Group, the largest provider of commercial real estate information services in the United States, to sell LoopNet’s ownership interest in Xceligent, under a proposed order settling charges that CoStar’s $860 million acquisition of LoopNet would be anticompetitive. The proposed FTC order requires the combined firm to sell LoopNet’s […]
International Competition Network Launches New Initiatives on the Investigative Process, Enforcement Cooperation, and Working with the Courts
The International Competition Network (ICN) launched initiatives on the investigative process in competition cases, international enforcement cooperation, and working with the courts, the Federal Trade Commission announced today. The ICN also adopted new materials on unilateral conduct investigations, raising anti-cartel awareness, and explaining the benefits of competition, and presented four new teaching modules of a […]
FTC Approves Cardinal Health, Inc.’s Application to Sell Nuclear Pharmacy Assets to Patient Care Infusion, LLC
Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved an application by Cardinal Health, Inc. to sell former Cardinal nuclear pharmacy assets to Patient Care Infusion, LLC (PCI). Cardinal’s sale of the assets is required under a 2011 settlement with the FTC , which resolved charges that Cardinal’s acquisition of three nuclear pharmacies […]
OSF Healthcare System Abandons Plan to Buy Rockford in Light of FTC Lawsuit;FTC Dismisses its Complaint Seeking to Block the Transaction
The Federal Trade Commission has dismissed the complaint it issued last November seeking to block OSF Healthcare System’s acquisition of rival health care provider Rockford Health System, in light of OSF Healthcare’s decision to abandon the proposed transaction. The Commission voted 5-0 to dismiss the complaint, after OSF announced on Thursday that it would no […]