Announced Actions for October 19, 1998

Consent agreements given final approval: Following a public comment period, the Commission has made final consent agreements with the following entities. The Commission action makes the consent orders binding on the respondents.

• Under the terms of a final order approved by the Commission, Nortek, Inc. will divest M&S, its wholly-owned subsidiary and the second-largest seller of hard-wired residential intercoms in the United States, to a Commission-approved third-party by no later than December 30, 1998. The divestiture will settle FTC charges that Nortek’s acquisition of NuTone, its closest competitor in the hard-wired residential intercom business, would violate antitrust laws. The Commission vote to approve the final order was 4-0. (See news release dated July 27, 1998; Docket No. C-3831; Staff contact is Andrew Caverly, 617-424-5960.)

• A final order against the South Lake Tahoe Lodging Association (SLTLA) will require the association, which represents the interests of the majority of motel and hotel operators and other operators of lodging properties on the California side of the South Lake Tahoe area, to stop participating in any agreement to encourage restrictions on the posting of signs advertising the prices at which its individual members offer lodging. The Commission vote to approve the final order was 4-0. (See news release dated July 20, 1998; Docket No. C-3830; Staff contact is Jeffrey A. Klurfeld, 415-356-5270.)

Copies of the documents referenced above are available from the FTC’s web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 6th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580; 202-326-3128; 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.