Bain Capital Exits Competitive Cheerleading Antitrust Case (1)

Bain Capital LP escaped antitrust and racketeering litigation Thursday over a subsidiary’s alleged competitive cheerleading monopoly, when a federal judge in Memphis, Tenn., dismissed attempts to tie the private equity firm directly to the gym and apparel company mergers targeted by the lawsuit.

Judge Sheryl H. Lipman let Bain out of the case two months after she ordered the indirect subsidiary, Varsity Brands LLC, to face allegations that it conspired with a standards-setting organization it sponsors, U.S. All Star Federation Inc., to dominate the sport and gouge its participants.

That ruling came in one of the two related cases brought ...