Telescope Makers’ Antitrust Settlement Gets Preliminary Approval

Celestron Acquisition LLC and its Taiwanese parent Synta Technology Corp. are among a group of telescope manufacturers that received preliminary approval for a $32 million deal to resolve price-fixing allegations.

Judge Edward J. Davila of the US District Court for the Northern District of California in a Monday order called the antitrust settlement fair, reasonable, and adequate for a class of indirect purchasers who between Jan. 1, 2005, and Sept. 6, 2023, purchased one or more telescopes that a defendant manufactured. A fairness hearing is set for April 3, 2025.

Telescope price-fixing has been a focal point for private plaintiffs ...