Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: FTC Approves Order Releasing Investment Entity as Party to Acquisition Order, (May 2, 2013)
Law Firms Mentioned:Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP
Organizations Mentioned:AEA Investors 2006 Fund L.P. | Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, LLP | HHI Holding Corp. | Houghton International Inc.
By William Zale, J.D.
The FTC has approved a petition by AEA Investors 2006 Fund L.P. to modify a 2010 final order that resolved the FTC's antitrust concerns over a 2008 acquisition that combined the two largest suppliers of aluminum hot rolling oil (AHRO) in North America (In the Matter of AEA Investors 2006 Fund L.P., Dkt. No. C-4297, FTC File No. 081 0245, April 30, 2013).
The 2010 order related to the 2008 acquisition of D.A. Stuart GmbH by Houghton International Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of HHI Holding Corp. The FTC charged that the 2008 transaction was anticompetitive in the market for hot rolling oil used to process aluminum, and required the sale of some assets Houghton acquired from D.A. Stuart as part of the transaction. AEA was included in the final order because at the time, Houghton was a wholly owned subsidiary of HHI Holding Corp., which itself was a subsidiary of AEA.
AEA sold Houghton and HHI to Gulf Oil Corporation Limited in December 2012. Because AEA no longer has any interest in Houghton or HHI, its inclusion in the final order is no longer necessary to ensure Houghton’s compliance.
The Commission vote to approve AEA’s application to modify the final order was 4-0.
Attorneys: Peter Guryan (Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP) for AEA Investors 2006 Fund L.P.
Companies: AEA Investors 2006 Fund L.P.; HHI Holding Corp.; Houghton International Inc.
News: Antitrust FederalTradeCommissionNews