CCS ends purchase of Newpark Environmental Services after FTC sues

Dec. 12, 2008
Newpark Resources Inc. and CCS Inc. agreed on Nov. 24 to cancel the proposed sale of Newpark's US environmental services business to CCS. The Federal Trade Commission sued to block the sale on Oct. 23 because it believed it would be anticompetitive, the companies said.

Newpark Resources Inc. and CCS Inc. agreed on Nov. 24 to cancel the proposed sale of Newpark's US environmental services business to CCS. The Federal Trade Commission sued to block the sale on Oct. 23 because it believed it would be anticompetitive, the companies said.

The complaint alleged that the transaction would have violated US antitrust laws by consolidating the only two significant providers of offshore exploration and production waste disposal services to oil and gas producers operating along the US Gulf Coast, the FTC said in a separate statement.

"We were fully prepared to present at trial the strong evidence that this transaction was anticompetitive and would have resulted in higher prices and diminished service. The abandonment of the deal in the face of our challenge is a victory for consumers," said David P. Wales, acting director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition.

Newpark chief executive Paul Howes said that while the company disagreed with the FTC's conclusions, CCS decided that it no longer wished to pursue the matter in the courts. "Consequently, we have mutually agreed to terminate the agreement to sell our environmental services business to them and we intend to bring the environmental services business back into the Newpark group of companies," he said.

The division continued to perform well while Newpark pursued its sale, he continued. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, Newpark Environmental Services reported $5.1 million of pre-tax income, including $3.5 million of transaction-related costs, on $47.4 million of revenue, Howes said.

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