FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION, APPELLANT v. H.J. HEINZ CO. AND MILNOT HOLDING CORPORATION, APPELLEES, 246 F.3d 708

Summary

Appellees, two baby food manufacturers, entered into a merger agreement. Appellant Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sought a preliminary injunction pursuant to section 13(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C.S. § 53(b), to enjoin the merger. The injunction was sought in aid of an FTC proceeding instituted to challenge the merger as violative of, inter alia, section 7 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C.S. § 18. The district court denied the preliminary injunction and the FTC appealed. The court of appeals reversed the district court and remanded for entry of a preliminary injunction against the appellees. The appellate court noted, in accepting the manufacturers' argument that they did not compete, that the district court failed to address the record evidence, that the two did in fact price against each other, and that, where both were present in the same areas, they depressed each other's prices as well as those of their sole competitor even though they were virtually never all ...