3M abandons $550-mn Avery Dennison office products deal after DoJ threatens lawsuit
05 Sep 2012
US multinational 3M yesterday abandoned plans to buy the office and consumer products business of Avery Dennison Corp after the US regulator threatened to file a lawsuit to block the deal on monopoly issues.
The US Department of Justice (DoJ) said that the proposed acquisition would have substantially lessened competition in the sale of labels and sticky notes, resulting in higher prices and reduced innovation for products that millions of American consumers use every day.
The DoJ said that the proposed merger would have given 3M more than an 80-per cent share of both the US labels and sticky notes markets.
In January Minnesota-based 3M had offered to buy the office and consumer products business of Avery Dennison for $550 million, (See: 3M to acquire Avery Dennison's office, consumer business) and expected the transaction to be completed in the second half of this year after receiving regulatory approvals.
Avery Dennison's office and consumer products business is one of the world's leading suppliers of office and education products including labels, binders, presentation products, filing and indexing products, writing instruments, and other office and home organisation products.
The business also includes the Avery, Hi-Liters and Marks-A-Lot product brands in the US, Canada, Germany, France, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and several other countries.
