WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced Aug. 14 that, following a public comment period, the agency has approved a final order resolving federal antitrust violation allegations against Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.’s (ACT) $4.4 billion acquisition of CST Brands Inc.
Under the order, ACT will need to divest retail fuel stations in 71 local markets to Empire Petroleum Partners. The divestitures will include CST fuel stations in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, New Mexico, Ohio, and Texas to Empire. Empire will have the option of acquiring an additional ACT-owned in Georgia.
The FTC alleged without the divestiture, the combined entity would have had the power to unilaterally raise prices in various markets in which CST had been ACT’s only competitor. According to the FTC, the new entity would have had a monopoly in 10 markets, and benefit from reduced competition in the rest of the affected markets.
The FTC voted 2-0 to approve the final order. Nicholas Bush of the Bureau of Competition is the staff contact for the case.