Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS NEWS: Superior Plus terminates $982M deal with Canexus, (Jun 30, 2016)
Organizations Mentioned:Bureau of Competition | Canexus Corp. | Superior Plus Corp.
By Greg Hammond, J.D.
Canadian chemical supplier Superior Plus Corp. has abandoned plans to acquire competitor Canexus Corp. The FTC had filed an administrative complaint earlier this week challenging the proposed $982 million deal as anticompetitive.
"The abandonment of this transaction means that Superior and Canexus will continue to compete as independent companies, and that is a very good thing for consumers," stated Debbie Feinstein, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. "Although many of us may never have heard of sodium chlorate, it is used in a range of consumer products including paper manufacturing, and the combination of Superior and Canexus likely would have led to higher prices."
The FTC alleged that the proposed transaction would have likely reduced competition in the North American market for sodium chlorate. The Canada Competition Bureau had also concluded that the deal would have likely resulted in a substantial lessening of competition for the supply of various industrial chemicals in Canada, but did not oppose the acquisition due to the efficiency exception in Canada’s Competition Act.
Companies: Superior Plus Corp.; Canexus Corp.
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