Announced Actions for December 8, 2000

Commission approval of trust agreement and appointment of proposed trustee:

In the following matter, the Commission has approved a trust agreement and the appointment of the proposed trustee: Novartis AG/AstraZeneca PLC. The proposed order in this matter requires the divestiture of two international businesses. The trustee's role is to monitor the respondents' obligations under the order, including the transfer of intellectual property to the buyers and maintenance of the assets to be divested. The appointed trustee is Richard Gilmore, president of the GIC Group, an international agribusiness consulting firm.

The Commission vote to approve the trust agreement and appointment of the proposed trustee was 5-0. (File No. 001-0082; staff contact is Daniel P. Ducore, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-2526; see press release dated November 1, 2000.)

Commission approval of proposed sale:

Following a public comment period, the Commission has approved an application for sale of assets in the following matter: Albertson's/American Stores. Under the terms of the consent order related to this supermarket chain merger, Unified Western Grocers, Inc. (Unified, formerly Certified Grocers) is required to obtain FTC approval before selling any of the 31 stores it acquired as a result of Albertson's divestiture obligations as specified in the order. This divestiture concerns two former Albertson's stores located in Temecula and Corona, California (Nos. 1611 and 1613), that Unified intends to sell to The Vons Companies, Inc. and real estate developer PCF CAPTEC Solano Mall, LLC, respectively. The Commission vote to approve the proposed divestiture was 4-0-1, with Commissioner Thomas B. Leary not participating. (File No. 981-0339; staff contact is Daniel P. Ducore, Assistant Director, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-2526; see press release dated June 22, 1999.)

Consent agreement given final approval:

Following a public comment period, the Commission has made final a consent agreement with the following and issued response letters to commentors: Albertson's/ American Stores. Due to several factors, the final complaint and order have been modified from the original, as there is now no need for relief concerning Albertson's agreed divestiture of a Lucky (American) store in Lompoc, California, to Ralphs. The Commission vote to finalize the consent order was 4-0-1, with Commissioner Thomas B. Leary not participating. (File No. 981-0339; staff contact is James A. Fishkin, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-2663; see press release dated June 22, 1999.)

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, D.C. 20580. The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint, or to get free information on any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or use the complaint form at https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/complaint.htm. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies worldwide.