Announced Action for July 15, 2005

Petition for Commission approval of proposed divestitures: The Commission has received a petition seeking the approval of three proposed divestitures required under the FTC’s order regarding Valero L.P.’s (Valero) recent acquisition of Kaneb Services LLC (Kaneb). Under the terms of the consent order, Valero and Kaneb are required to divest: 1) the West Pipeline System; 2) the Philadelphia Area Terminals; and 3) the San Francisco Bay Terminals, as those terms are defined in the order, to Commission-approved purchasers. Through this petition, Valero and Kaneb have requested FTC approval to divest all three assets to Pacific Energy Group LLC, or one of its wholly owned subsidiaries, per a July 1, 2005, purchase agreement between the relevant companies.

The Commission is accepting public comments on the petition for 30 days, until August 13, 2005, after which it will decide whether to approve it. Comments should be sent to: FTC, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20580. (FTC File No. 051-0022, Docket No. C-4141; the staff contact is Elizabeth A. Piotrowski, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-2623; see press release dated June 15, 2005.)

Commission approval of petition to reopen and modify final decision and order: The Commission has approved a petition to reopen and modify the final decision and order in the 2003 matter concerning Nestlé Holdings Inc., Docket No. C-4082, which arose from Nestlé’s acquisition of Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream Holdings, Inc. The respondents petitioned the FTC on behalf of CoolBrands International, Inc., and its subsidiary Integrated Brands, Inc., the Commission-approved divestiture buyer in this proceeding, to extend portions of the Transitions Services Agreement between respondents and CoolBrands for an additional 12 months. A redacted version of the petition is available on the FTC’s Web site.

The Commission has approved the petition by a vote of 4-0. The companies also requested expedited consideration of the petition and a waiver of the public comment period. The FTC denied that request. (FTC File No. 021-0174, Docket No. C-4082; the staff contact is Daniel P. Ducore, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-2526; see press releases dated March 4, June 25, November 12, 2003; July 2, 2004; and March 29, 2005.)

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC’s Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. Call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.