Cooper Cos. Abandons Cook Medical Unit Deal Amid FTC Concerns

Cooper Cos. abandoned its $875 million deal to buy the reproductive health unit of Cook Medical Inc. after the US Federal Trade Commission expressed antitrust concerns about the deal, the agency said Tuesday.

In a statement, the antitrust agency said it had concerns about how the deal would impact reproductive health markets.

The FTC marked it as a win for its aggressive antitrust agenda under the Biden administration and said that at least 15 deals have been abandoned over competition issues since January 2021.

Cooper’s CooperSurgical unit makes a variety of products to aid in screening, treatment and surgery for women’s reproductive health. Closely held Cook Medical manufactures minimally invasive medical devices, including the needles designed for in-vitro fertilization.

Cooper announced the deal in February 2022 and the FTC asked for additional details in April of that year. The companies initially expected the transaction to close in 2022, but later extended that guidance until the end of August 2023. In a March earnings call, Cooper executives said they may need to sell some of Cook’s assets in order to complete the transaction.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Leah Nylen in Washington at lnylen2@bloomberg.net

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Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net

Elizabeth Wasserman

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