FTC case challenging $4 billion mattress merger draws veteran antitrust lawyers
By Mike Scarcella
July 3 (Reuters) -A closely-watched lawsuit seeking to block Tempur Sealy’s $4.3 billion acquisition of retail giant Mattress Firm will pit veteran antitrust defenders against a U.S. Federal Trade Commission team led by a former longtime Latham & Watkins attorney who joined the agency this year.
Bed manufacturer Tempur Sealy TPX.N has turned to Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, including partner Bruce Hoffman, and Mattress Firm is working with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, whose team includes Sara Razi, co-leader of the firm’s antitrust and trade regulation group, court records show.
The FTC on Tuesday sued in Houston federal court to stop Tempur Sealy’s merger, which the agency said would lead to potential job losses for manufacturing workers and cause consumers to pay higher prices.
The FTC’s Allyson Maltas, who left Latham in January for a senior trial counsel post at the agency, is in charge of the agency’s case.
Maltas, Hoffman and Razi had no immediate comment or did not respond to a request for one.
The FTC’s lawsuit stands out as a rare litigated “vertical” merger challenge. U.S. antitrust enforcers have struggled in court to block such mergers, since the deals involve companies that do not compete against each other head-on.
FTC competition bureau director Henry Liu said in a statement on Tuesday that Tempur Sealy's aim was “to kneecap competitors and dominate the market.”
Lexington, Kentucky-based Tempur Sealy in a statement said the bedding industry was highly competitive and that Mattress Firm accounted for only a fraction of the retail market.
Cleary Gottlieb’s Hoffman served as FTC competition bureau director from 2017 until 2019, supervising antitrust enforcement. In 2012 while at another firm, Hoffman was counsel to Universal Music Group in its $1.9 billion acquisition of EMI Music's recorded music business.
Razi was on the Simpson Thacher team that successfully defended Change Healthcare in a Justice Department antitrust lawsuit in 2022 targeting UnitedHealth’s acquisition of the company as unlawful.
Maltas was on the Latham team defending American Airlines in a Justice Department antitrust action in Massachusetts before leaving the firm.
Tempur Sealy said it anticipated successfully resolving the litigation in the coming months and completing its deal later this year or in early 2025.
The case is Federal Trade Commission v. Tempur Sealy International Inc. et al, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, No. 4:24-cv-02508.
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Reporting by Mike Scarcella
면책조항: XM Group 회사는 체결 전용 서비스와 온라인 거래 플랫폼에 대한 접근을 제공하여, 개인이 웹사이트에서 또는 웹사이트를 통해 이용 가능한 콘텐츠를 보거나 사용할 수 있도록 허용합니다. 이에 대해 변경하거나 확장할 의도는 없습니다. 이러한 접근 및 사용에는 다음 사항이 항상 적용됩니다: (i) 이용 약관, (ii) 위험 경고, (iii) 완전 면책조항. 따라서, 이러한 콘텐츠는 일반적인 정보에 불과합니다. 특히, 온라인 거래 플랫폼의 콘텐츠는 금융 시장에서의 거래에 대한 권유나 제안이 아닙니다. 금융 시장에서의 거래는 자본에 상당한 위험을 수반합니다.
온라인 거래 플랫폼에 공개된 모든 자료는 교육/정보 목적으로만 제공되며, 금융, 투자세 또는 거래 조언 및 권고, 거래 가격 기록, 금융 상품 또는 원치 않는 금융 프로모션의 거래 제안 또는 권유를 포함하지 않으며, 포함해서도 안됩니다.
이 웹사이트에 포함된 모든 의견, 뉴스, 리서치, 분석, 가격, 기타 정보 또는 제3자 사이트에 대한 링크와 같이 XM이 준비하는 콘텐츠 뿐만 아니라, 제3자 콘텐츠는 일반 시장 논평으로서 "현재" 기준으로 제공되며, 투자 조언으로 여겨지지 않습니다. 모든 콘텐츠가 투자 리서치로 해석되는 경우, 투자 리서치의 독립성을 촉진하기 위해 고안된 법적 요건에 따라 콘텐츠가 의도되지 않았으며, 준비되지 않았다는 점을 인지하고 동의해야 합니다. 따라서, 관련 법률 및 규정에 따른 마케팅 커뮤니케이션이라고 간주됩니다. 여기에서 접근할 수 있는 앞서 언급한 정보에 대한 비독립 투자 리서치 및 위험 경고 알림을 읽고, 이해하시기 바랍니다.
