Announced Actions for December 20, 1996

Applications for approval of transactions: The FTC has received an application for approval of a transaction from the following entity. The FTC is seeking public comments on the application for 30 days, until Jan. 21.

• Johnson & Johnson, of New Brunswick, New Jersey, has applied for FTC approval to divest Cordis Corporation's neuroscience business to Elekta, a Swedish corporation which has offices in Atlanta, Georgia, and Miami, Florida. Divestiture of this business is required under an April 1996 consent order designed to restore competition for cranial shunts used in the treatment of hydrocephalus -- a potentially fatal condition affecting infants and children -- and settled FTC charges that J&J's acquisition of Cordis substantially reduced competition for these products. (See Dec. 20, 1995 news release for more details regarding the consent order; Docket No. C-3645.) Staff contact is Elizabeth Piotrowski, 202-326-2623.

Commission action regarding applications for approval: Following a public comment period, the Commission has ruled on an application for approval of a transaction from the following entity:

• The Commission has approved the application of Compagnie de Saint-Gobain, a French firm, to divest the Monofrax fused cast refractories business of The Carborundum Company to Vesuvius Crucible Company, which is based in Champaign, Illinois. Monofrax includes a manufacturing facility in Falconer, New York, and other assets and businesses used in the production and sale of fused cast refractories. Divestiture of Monofrax was one of the requirements under a June 1996 consent order Saint-Gobain signed to settle FTC charges that the firm's acquisition of Carborundum violated antitrust laws by substantially reducing competition in three markets involving products used in industrial furnaces and home appliances, including the fused cast refractories market in the United States. (See Feb. 26, 1996 news release for more details regarding the consent order; Docket No. C-3673; Commission vote to approve the divestiture was 5-0.) Staff contact is Elizabeth Piotrowski, 202-326-2623.

Comments on the J&J application should be addressed to the FTC, Office of the Secretary, 6th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580; 202-326-2222; TTY for the hearing impaired 1-866-653-4261. The FTC documents referenced above are available at the FTC's web site at https://www.ftc.gov ; all others are available from the FTC's Public Reference Branch, Room 130, at the above address. To find out the latest news as it is announced, call the FTC NewsPhone recording at 202-326-2710.