Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: FTC seeks comment on TRW divestiture of its linkage and suspension business, (Jun 8, 2015)

By Edward L. Puzzo, J.D.

The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on the proposed divestiture of ZF Friedrichshafen and TRW’s North American and European linkage and suspension business to THK Co., Ltd., the FTC has announced. ZF Friedrichshafen AG of Germany and TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. of the United States are global suppliers of automotive products. THK Co., Ltd., a Tokyo-based global machine component manufacturer.

Previously, on March 15, 2015, the European Commission approved ZF Friedrichshafen’s acquisition of TRW, conditional upon the divestment of TRW’s car and truck chassis components business in the European Economic Area (EEA). Then on May 5, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission reached a consent agreement with ZF Friedrichshafen and TRW requiring them to divest TRW's linkage and suspension business in North America and Europe as a condition of FTC approval of their merger. The merged company was given six months after the proposed consent agreement took effect to divest the TRW assets to an FTC-approved buyer.

ZF Friedrichshafen and TRW subsequently reached an agreement to sell TRW's linkage and suspension business in North America and Europe to THK Co., Ltd. The FTC is now seeking public comment on the proposed divestiture. The Commission will decide whether to approve the proposed divestiture after expiration of a 30-day public comment period. Public comments may be submitted until July 6, 2015. Written comments should be sent to: FTC Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20580. Comments can also be filed electronically. (FTC File No. 141 0235, Docket No. C-4520; the staff contact is Roberta Baruch, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-2861)

Companies: ZF Friedrichshafen AG; TRW Automotive Holdings Corp.; THK Co., Ltd.

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