Markets Wired

Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved a final order settling charges that three PET resin producers’ proposed $1.1 billion joint acquisition out of bankruptcy of an under-construction PET production facility would violate federal antitrust law.

According to the complaint, which was first announced in December 2018, without a remedy, the proposed acquisition likely would substantially lessen competition in the highly concentrated North American market for PET resin.

The terms of the final order prevent the joint-venture partners—Alpek S.A.B. de C.V., known as DAK, Indorama Ventures Plc, and Far Eastern New Century—from using their joint ownership of the assets to act alone or in concert to exercise market power or to transmit competitively sensitive information beyond what is necessary to accomplish the legitimate purposes of the venture.

The Commission vote approving the final order was 5-0. (The staff contact is Michael E. Blaisdell, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-3220)

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