US FTC files suit against Peabody, arch thermal coal JV, citing substantial loss of market competition

摘要

The Federal Trade Commission challenged Peabody Energy and Arch Coal’s proposed joint venture based on the view that the transaction would eliminate competition in the thermal coal market in the Southern Powder River Basin. “Whatever the product, the antitrust laws protect customers from mergers that lead to higher prices,” Ian Connor, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, said in the statement. “This joint venture would eliminate the substantial head-to-head competition between the two largest coal miners in the United States, and that loss of competition would likely raise coal prices to power-generating utilities that provide electricity to millions of Americans.”