Analysis of Agreement Containing Consent Order The Federal Trade Commission ("Commission") has accepted, subject to final approval, an Agreement Containing Consent Order ("Consent Agreement") from Reckitt & Colman plc ("Reckitt & Colman"), which is designed to remedy the anticompetitive effects resulting from Reckitt & Colman's acquisition of the voting securities of Benckiser N.V. from NRV Vermögensverwaltung GmbH ("Vermögensverwaltung"). Under the terms of the Decision & Order, Reckitt & Colman will be required to divest Benckiser's Scrub Free® and Delicare® businesses to Church & Dwight Co., Inc. ("Church & Dwight") after the date upon which the Commission preliminarily accepts the Consent Agreement. Church & Dwight produces a number of household products under the Arm & Hammer® brand name. The proposed Consent Agreement has been placed on the public record for thirty (30) days for reception of comments from interested persons. Comments received during this period will become part of the public record. After thirty (30) days, the Commission will again review the proposed Consent Agreement and the comments received, and will decide whether it should withdraw from the proposed Consent Agreement or make final the Decision & Order. On July 27, 1999, Reckitt & Colman and entities controlled by Vermögensverwaltung entered into a Merger Agreement under which Reckitt & Colman agreed to purchase all of the voting securities of Benckiser N.V. for approximately $2.7 billion. The Commission's Complaint alleges that the merger, if consummated, would violate Section 7 of the Clayton Act, as amended, 15 U.S.C § 18, and Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, as amended, 15 U.S.C. § 45, in the markets for the research, development, formulation, manufacture, marketing and sale of hard surface bathroom cleaners and fine fabric wash products. Hard surface bathroom cleaners are products specially formulated, sold and used by consumers to remove built-up soils and stains from bathroom surfaces. Reckitt & Colman, which sells Lysol,® and Benckiser, which sells Scrub Free,® are two significant U.S. suppliers of hard surface bathroom cleaners. Fine fabric wash products are specially formulated, sold and used by consumers to launder fine fabrics such as silks, woolens or other delicate fabrics. Reckitt & Colman, which sells Woolite,® and Benckiser, which sells Delicare,® are the two largest suppliers of fine fabric wash products. The United States is the relevant geographic area in which to evaluate the effects of the proposed acquisition of Benckiser by Reckitt & Colman. It is unlikely that the competition eliminated by the proposed transaction would be replaced by foreign manufacturers of hard surface bathroom cleaners and fine fabric wash products. Foreign manufacturers of these products are unable to compete effectively in the U.S. because they lack the necessary brand recognition among U.S. consumers and face substantial transportation costs, which make importing their products into the U.S. uneconomical. The hard surface bathroom cleaner and fine fabric wash markets are highly concentrated in the United States, and the proposed acquisition would substantially increase concentration in each market. In the hard surface bathroom cleaner market, the acquisition would result in an increase in the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index ("HHI") to approximately 2300 points, which is an increase of about 500 points over the premerger HHI level. In the fine fabric wash market, the post-merger HHI would be approximately 8500 points, which is an increase of about 700 points over the premerger HHI level. By eliminating competition between these competitors in these highly concentrated markets, the proposed acquisition could allow Reckitt & Colman unilaterally to exercise market power or could facilitate coordinated interaction among the remaining competitors in the hard surface bathroom cleaner market, and could allow Reckitt & Colman unilaterally to exercise market power in the fine fabric wash market, thereby increasing the likelihood that consumers of hard surface bathroom cleaners and fine fabric wash products would be forced to pay higher prices. In addition, new entry would not deter or counteract the anticompetitive effects likely to flow from the proposed transaction. A new entrant into either the hard surface bathroom cleaner or fine fabric wash market would need to undertake the difficult, expensive and time-consuming process of developing a competitive product, creating brand recognition among U.S. consumers, and establishing a viable retail distribution network. Because of the difficulty of accomplishing these tasks, new entry into either market could not be accomplished in a timely manner. Moreover, because of the high sunk costs involved, it is not likely that new entry into either market would occur at all, even in response to a small, nontransitory increase in price in either market after the transaction. Similarly, entry through brand name product line extension is not likely. Large, vertically integrated manufacturers of household cleaners are set up for high volume production and not for the production of small or individual stock keeping units for niche markets. The Consent Agreement effectively remedies the acquisition's anticompetitive effects in the hard surface bathroom cleaner and fine fabric wash markets by requiring Reckitt & Colman to divest Benckiser's Scrub Free® and Delicare® businesses to a third party. These assets include all Scrub Free® and Delicare® trademarks and related intellectual property, trade secrets, technical and manufacturing know-how, and customer and vendor lists and information. Pursuant to the Consent Agreement, the Benckiser businesses must be divested to Church & Dwight after the Commission accepts this Consent Agreement for public comment, but on or before the date that Reckitt & Colman acquires Benckiser. Church & Dwight is a well established, financially viable company that offers value priced consumer cleaning products under established brands including Arm & Hammer®, Parsons®, Brillo®, and Sno Bol®. In order to ensure an orderly transition, Reckitt & Colman will provide Church & Dwight with short-term integration assistance, including production planning and order and billing processing. In the event that these businesses are not divested to Church & Dwight, the Decision & Order contains a provision that requires Reckitt & Colman to divest Benckiser's Scrub Free® and Delicare® businesses to an alternative acquirer approved by the Commission within ninety (90) days of the date the Decision & Order becomes final. At the alternative acquirer's option, additional related assets may be divested including fixtures, machines, buildings, structures, vehicles, real property, or other tangible assets used in the research, development, formulation, manufacture, sale, or distribution of these businesses. In the event that the Benckiser Scrub Free® and Delicare® businesses are not divested to Church & Dwight or to an alternative acquirer within 90 days of the date the Commission's Decision & Order becomes final, the Decision & Order provides that the Commission may appoint a trustee to divest these assets, and, at the purchaser's option, to divest additional related assets to a Commission-approved purchaser. The Order also requires Reckitt & Colman to provide to the Commission a report of compliance with the divestiture provisions of the Decision & Order within thirty (30) days following the date the Decision & Order becomes final, every thirty (30) days thereafter until Reckitt & Colman has completed the required divestiture, and every ninety (90) days thereafter until Reckitt & Colman has completed its divestiture obligations under the Order. The purpose of this analysis is to facilitate public comment on the Consent Agreement, and it is not intended to constitute an official interpretation of the Consent Agreement or to modify its terms in any way. |