Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS NEWS: FTC stops administrative challenge to Steris, Synergy deal, (Oct 7, 2015)

By Greg Hammond, J.D.

Following a trial court’s denial of the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction blocking the proposed merger between Steris Corp. and Synergy Health PLC—the second and third largest sterilization companies in the world—the Commission has withdrawn the matter from administrative adjudication. The FTC granted Steris’ and Synergy’s motion to withdraw the matter from adjudication today (FTC v. Steris Corp., FTC Dkt. 9365).

In May 2015, the Commission issued an administrative complaint, charging that Steris’ proposed $1.9 billion acquisition of Synergy would violate the antitrust laws by significantly reducing future competition in regional markets for sterilization of products using radiation, particularly gamma or x-ray radiation. The federal district court in Cleveland denied the FTC’s request for preliminary injunction, however, finding that the Commission failed to meet its burden to demonstrate that, absent the acquisition, Synergy would have entered the U.S. contract sterilization market by building one or more x-ray facilities within a reasonable time period. Following the denial, the Commission released a statement disclosing that it would not appeal the order.

The FTC issued an order today withdrawing the matter from adjudication. The order cited that the time period within which Complaint Counsel could file an objection asserting that the conditions of Commission Rule 3.26(b) have not been met expired, and that no such objection was filed.

Companies: Steris Corp.

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