Announced Action(s) for March 25, 1997

The Federal Trade Commission today announced the following action.

Applications for approval of transactions: The FTC has received an application for approval for a transaction from the following. The FTC is seeking public comments on the application for 30 days, until April 23.

• J.C. Penney Company, Inc. and Thrift Drug, Inc. have applied for FTC approval to divest 161 Thrift Drug retail stores in North and South Carolina to a newly formed company, New Kerr Drug, which will conduct business under the name Kerr Drug. New Kerr Drug is owned by Laurence F. Ross (51%) and Anthony N. Civello, William C. Baxley, Alan F. Brundage, Briony W. Voorhees, Richard D. Johnson, B. Joey Dorsett, Diane A. Eltezer, Edward S. Edmundson and John Ghaznavi (49%). Divestiture of the assets is required under a February 1996 consent order designed to restore competition that otherwise would have been injured as a result of Penney's acquisition of Eckerd Corporation and 190 Rite Aid stores in those two states. (See Dec 9, 1996 news release for more details regarding this case; Docket No. C-3721, C-3722.) Staff contact is Daniel Ducore, 202-326-2526.

Comments on the application should be addressed to the FTC, Office of the Secretary, 6th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. Copies of the documents referenced above are available from the FTC's Public Reference Branch, Room 130, at the same address; 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. FTC news releases and other materials also are available on the Internet at the FTC's World Wide Web site at: http://www.ftc.gov