11th Circuit Affirms FTC’s Order That Polypore Completely Divest Acquired Rival

The FTC did not err in concluding that battery separator manufacturer Polypore’s acquisition of its main rival, Microporous Products, violated Clayton Act §7 and that only complete divestiture would restore competition in three U.S. markets, according to a July 11 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (Polypore International Inc. v. FTC, 11th Cir., 11-10375, 7/11/12).

Judge R. Lanier Anderson, III, writing for himself and Judges Jerome Farris and J.L Edmondson, concluded that the commission’s decision to treat the acquisition as a horizontal merger was reasonable and that the commission was within its ...