Clifford Chance

No Deal, Even if Consummated, Is Free From Antitrust Scrutiny: FTC Unanimously Upholds Decision Against Otto Bock Healthcare's Acquisition of Freedom Innovations

8 November 2019

Almost two-years after the United States Federal Trade Commission originally sued to block Otto Bock Healthcare's acquisition of Freedom Innovations, the FTC unanimously voted on November 6, 2019, to uphold an FTC administrative law judge's decision that the transaction would, and has, substantially lessened competition in the United States for prosthetic knees equipped with microprocessors. As a result, the FTC has ordered Otto Bock to divest the Freedom Innovation assets to an FTC-approved buyer. Otto Bock's acquisition of Freedom Innovations closed in September 2017 and was not reportable to the US antitrust authorities under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act.

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