Latest news with #Robinson-PatmanAct
Time of India
26-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
FTC drops case against Pepsi alleging price discrimination
HighlightsThe United States Federal Trade Commission dropped its case against PepsiCo, which accused the company of price discrimination favoring Walmart. The lawsuit, which alleged violations of the Robinson-Patman Act, was criticized by Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson for being a partisan stunt. Former Chair Lina Khan described the dismissal of the case as a benefit to large retailers, warning that it may lead to increased prices for consumers. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Thursday dropped its case accusing PepsiCo of price discrimination that favored Walmart, and criticized former Chair Lina Khan for rushing the case out. The lawsuit filed in New York had accused the soft drink manufacturer of violating the Robinson-Patman Act , a law that went largely unenforced for decades by the federal government. The case was filed in New York on January 17, days before President Donald Trump took office. "Taxpayer dollars should not be used for legally dubious partisan stunts," FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said. PepsiCo said the company "has always and will continue to provide all customers with fair, competitive, and non-discriminatory pricing, discounts and promotional value." A representative for Walmart did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The FTC had claimed PepsiCo's practices fed high consumer prices by placing other retailers ranging from large grocery chains to independent convenience stores at a disadvantage to Walmart. Khan called the dismissal of the case "a gift to giant retailers as they gear up to hike prices," in a post on social media platform X.
Time of India
24-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
FTC drops case against Pepsi alleging price discrimination
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Thursday dropped its case accusing PepsiCo of price discrimination that favored Walmart, and criticized former Chair Lina Khan for rushing the case out. The lawsuit filed in New York had accused the soft drink manufacturer of violating the Robinson-Patman Act, a law that went largely unenforced for decades by the federal government. The case was filed in New York on January 17, days before President Donald Trump took office. "Taxpayer dollars should not be used for legally dubious partisan stunts," FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said. PepsiCo said the company "has always and will continue to provide all customers with fair, competitive, and non-discriminatory pricing, discounts and promotional value." A representative for Walmart did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The FTC had claimed PepsiCo's practices fed high consumer prices by placing other retailers ranging from large grocery chains to independent convenience stores at a disadvantage to Walmart. Khan called the dismissal of the case "a gift to giant retailers as they gear up to hike prices," in a post on social media platform X.>
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
FTC scraps price discrimination lawsuit against PepsiCo
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has decided to drop its legal case against PepsiCo, which accused the company of engaging in 'illegal price discrimination' in soft drinks. The lawsuit, filed in the final days of the Biden administration, claimed that PepsiCo provided 'unfair pricing advantages' to a 'large, big box retailer', while increasing prices for other competing retailers and customers. In a statement issued yesterday (22 May), FTC chairman Andrew Ferguson said the lawsuit was dismissed because 'the Biden-Harris FTC rushed to authorise this case just three days before President Trump's inauguration in a nakedly political effort'. 'Taxpayer dollars should not be used for legally dubious partisan stunts,' Ferguson added. The commission's vote to dismiss the complaint was unanimous at three to zero. The FTC's January lawsuit alleged that PepsiCo's practices violated the Robinson-Patman Act (RPA) by offering promotional benefits to the favoured retailer, which were not extended to competing businesses. These benefits included promotional payments, which were not extended to competing businesses and violates the Robinson-Patman Act (RPA). These 'unfair practices' allegedly resulted in inflated prices for American consumers and hindered fair competition. The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Responding to the lawsuit in January, PepsiCo said its 'practices are in line with industry norms, and we do not favour certain customers by offering discounts or promotional support to some customers and not others'. Commenting on the latest dismissal, FTC commissioner Melissa Holyoak said: 'The staff at the Federal Trade Commission - both economists and lawyers - are highly skilled professionals, and we as a Commission should not have sent them into court to fight a losing battle. "Today's dismissal allows our dedicated staff to focus on bringing enforcement actions where we have reason to believe the law has been violated, and where they can do what they do best - protect American consumers.' "FTC scraps price discrimination lawsuit against PepsiCo " was originally created and published by Just Drinks, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's FTC walks away from Microsoft-Activision merger fight started by Biden
President Trump's antitrust cops ended a government effort to unwind Microsoft's (MSFT) $69 billion acquisition of video game maker Activision Blizzard that began during the Biden administration. The decision came Thursday when the Federal Trade Commission voluntarily dropped a lawsuit that Biden's FTC boss Lina Khan first filed against the tie up in December 2022. It was a major win for Microsoft, which became the third-largest video game company in the world by revenue behind Sony (SONY) and Tencent with its purchase of Activision, maker of the popular "Call of Duty" franchise. The FTC had said initially that it wanted to block the deal because once Xbox owner Microsoft controlled "Call of Duty" it could exclude other gaming companies from accessing the content. Microsoft President Brad Smith on X called the FTC's retreat "a victory for players across the country and for common sense in Washington, D.C." The Microsoft challenge is not the only antitrust battle that the Trump administration is shedding from its predecessor's caseload. The FTC also dropped a suit that Biden's FTC filed against PepsiCo (PEP) in the final days of the administration. The complaint alleged that PepsiCo unfairly offered a major retailer premium deals that it didn't offer competing big box stores, in violation of the Robinson-Patman Act. Multiple news organizations, citing sources, said the retailer at issue was Walmart (WMT). "Taxpayer dollars should not be used for legally dubious partisan stunts. The FTC's outstanding staff will instead get back to work protecting consumers and ensuring a fair and competitive business environment," FTC Commissioner Andrew Ferguson said in a statement. The Microsoft case, which was pending before the FTC's in-house administrative court, had become an uphill battle for the regulator. It was weakened in May when a federal appeals court sided with a lower court denying the FTC's request to pause the deal from closing. The FTC had previously suspended its administrative challenge to the deal in July 2023 after both a federal district court judge and a three-judge federal appellate court panel declined to grant the commission a preliminary injunction that would have kept the tie-up from happening as it battled the merger. 'The Commission has determined that the public interest is best served by dismissing the administrative litigation in this case,' FTC Secretary April Tabor said in a document filed with the court on Thursday. The FTC had alleged that combining the two companies would harm competition in three gaming markets: game consoles, subscription content, and cloud gaming. Historically, Activision's games have been available across different gaming consoles, including Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and Sony's Playstation. Microsoft agreed to enter a legally binding contract to offer "Call of Duty" on the competing platforms to keep Call of Duty available on their platforms for 10 years. Microsoft and Activison cleared a final hurdle from the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in October 2023 by negotiating a cloud gaming agreement. Under the renegotiated terms, French gaming company Ubisoft Entertainment SA acquired the rights to Activision's cloud gaming content for 15 years, ensuring that it would remain available on non-Windows operating systems – operating systems not owned by Microsoft. Alexis Keenan is a legal reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow Alexis on X @alexiskweed.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
FTC dismisses lawsuit against PepsiCo that was filed by Biden-era FTC
The Republican-controlled Federal Trade Commission voted Thursday to dismiss a lawsuit against PepsiCo that the previous commission filed in the waning days of the Biden administration. The lawsuit, filed in January, alleged that PepsiCo was giving unfair price advantages to Walmart at the expense of other vendors and consumers. The lawsuit had relied on the rarely enforced 1936 Robinson-Patman Act, which it said prohibits companies from using promotional incentive payments to favor large customers over smaller ones. When the lawsuit was filed, Democrat Lina Khan was the FTC's chairwoman, and she was joined in support of the lawsuit by Democratic Commissioners Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya. At the time, Republican Commissioners Andrew Ferguson and Melissa Holyoak dissented. A few days after the lawsuit was filed, President Donald Trump took office and Khan resigned. Trump fired Bedoya and Slaughter in March. Bedoya and Slaughter have sued the Trump administration, saying their removal was illegal. Ferguson, who is now the chairman of the FTC, said Thursday that the PepsiCo lawsuit was a 'dubious partisan stunt' and FTC staff had more important work to do. 'The Biden-Harris FTC rushed to authorize this case just three days before President Trump's inauguration in a nakedly political effort to commit this administration to pursuing little more than a hunch that Pepsi had violated the law,' Ferguson said in a statement. Purchase, New York-based PepsiCo said Thursday that it was pleased with the FTC's withdrawal of the lawsuit. 'PepsiCo has always and will continue to provide all customers with fair, competitive, and non-discriminatory pricing, discounts and promotional value,' the company said in a statement.
