In a unanimous Opinion and Final Order issued on November 1,
2019, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) upheld an
administrative law judge’s determination that the acquisition
by one leading US supplier of lower-limb prosthetics of another in
2017 had “substantially” lessened competition in the
market for microprocessor-equipped prosthetic knees
(“MPKs”), and ordered the acquiring party, Otto Bock
HealthCare North America, Inc. (“Otto Bock”), to divest
itself of the assets and business acquired in the 2017 transaction
within 90 days. Because the transaction did not meet the reporting thresholds of the Hart-Scott-Rodino
(HSR) Act, the parties had long since closed the deal. This is
the first time that the FTC, as currently constituted, has issued
an order requiring that a consummated acquisition be unwound, and
serves as a reminder that parties to a transaction must be mindful
of the potential competitive impact of their deal, even if the
transaction is not HSR
