AV&H successfully obtains FTC approval of A&P's $1.3 billion acquisition of rival supermarket operator Pathmark

AV&H represented The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (“A&P”) in its proposed $1.3 billion acquisition of Pathmark Stores, Inc., two supermarket chains with similar geographic footprints.  AV&H assisted A&P in its pre-acquisition antitrust review, including negotiation of the risk-allocation provisions of the merger agreement.  AV&H shepherded A&P through an antitrust review by the Federal Trade Commission and various state attorneys general, responding to an extensive second request.

The transaction presented a special challenge because, in 1999, Ahold's proposed acquisition of Pathmark foundered on a threatened challenge by the FTC.  However,  AV&H  marshaled substantial econometric and other evidence, which demonstrated that the supermarket industry had changed substantially in the past several years and, as a result, the merger would not raise competitive concerns.  As a result of AV&H’s efforts,  the FTC and the state attorneys general permitted A&P to acquire Pathmark, requiring that only 6 of 141 stores be divested.

AV&H attorneys Bill Rubenstein, Michael Keeley and Michelle Seagull led AV&H's successful efforts before the Federal Trade Commission and the State Attorneys General.  Patrick Lai, Charles Hoffman, Adam Strayer and Russell Steinthal also were key members of the AV&H team.