Pre-closing violations in United
States v. Flakeboard & SierraPine provide
a reminder of practical rules for handling pre-closing activities
without hitting antitrust landmines.
On November 7, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of
Justice (DOJ) announced a proposed settlement imposing fines of
$4.95 million on Flakeboard America Limited, SierraPine Limited,
and their affiliates (collectively, the parties). The fines were
assessed in connection with Sherman Act and Hart-Scott-Rodino Act
(HSR Act) violations relating to Flakeboard's intended
acquisition of three U.S. wood product plants from SierraPine.
The DOJ alleged that, prior to obtaining HSR Act approval for
Flakeboard's proposed acquisition of the SierraPine plants, the
parties closed one of the plants that competed with Flakeboard,
began to transfer all of the plant's customers to Flakeboard,
and exchanged competitively sensitive information about the
plant's customers, which Flakeboard distributed
