Tennessee-based Louisiana-Pacific Corporation
(LP) recently abandoned its proposed acquisition
of Canadian competitor Ainsworth Lumber Co. Ltd.
(Ainsworth). The decision came several days after
an announcement by U.S. Department of Justice
(DOJ) and an announcement by the Canadian Competition
Bureau (Bureau) that they each considered the
transaction would likely substantially lessen competition of the
sale of oriented strand board (OSB). The Bureau
and DOJ collaborated and shared information during the review of
the proposed merger.
The Bureau, DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission have long
coordinated reviews of cross-border mergers. This experience is
reflected in the recently published Best Practices on Cooperation in Merger
Investigations, issued by the agencies in late March.
According to the publication, the collaborative effort aims to not
only increase the efficiency of the merger review process and
reduce the burdens placed on merging parties, but also to
