Announced Actions for January 17, 1997

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:

• The Commission has approved the application of Red Apple Companies, Inc., of New York City, to divest a Gristede’s supermarket located at 311 Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village to White Rose Food, an independent wholesale food distributor in the New York City metropolitan area. White Rose will then resell the store to Strawberry Fields Associates, Inc., also of New York City. White Rose will be the food wholesaler for Strawberry Fields. This divestiture is one of six required under a 1995 consent order settling charges that Red Apple’s acquisition of Sloan’s Supermarkets violated federal antitrust laws in that it would substantially reduce supermarket competition in four Manhattan markets. One divestiture already has been completed, the requirement to divest another has been deleted, and applications for the three others are pending at the Commission. Red Apple recently agreed to pay a $600,000 civil penalty to settle charges that it failed to complete the divestitures within the deadline set by the 1995 order. (See Dec. 13, 1994 and Jan. 10, 1997 news releases for more details regarding this case; Docket No. 9266; Commission vote to approve the Bleecker Street divestiture was 5-0.) Staff contact is Elizabeth Piotrowski, 202-326-2623.

Copies of the documents referenced above are available from the FTC’s web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the agency’s Public Reference Branch, Room 130, 6th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580; 202-326-2222; TTY for the hearing impaired 1-866-653-4261. To find out the latest news as it is announced, call the FTC NewsPhone recording at 202-326-2710.