For an official signed copy, please contact the Antitrust Documents Group . The Department's Antitrust Division filed a complaint today in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, charging that, if consummated, the merger would reduce competition in the sale of branded butter sold at retail outlets in the New York and Philadelphia regions. Unless this deal is blocked, that's exactly what will happen in the New York and Philadelphia metropolitan areas. We brought this suit to preserve competition by preventing the elimination of a strong independent competitor. Butter, sold both as quarter-pound sticks and in tubs in whipped form, is advertised as a special by retailers to attract customers to stores.
Many consumers consider branded butter to be a superior product and pay a premium for it.
The complaint states that the two companies compete directly and aggressively on the basis of price, promotional allowances, service, brand support, product improvements, and other facets of competition in the sale of branded butter in these areas. In the greater Philadelphia and New York metropolitan areas, approximately 80 percent of butter sold at retail outlets is sold in stick form. Nearly all of the remaining 20 percent of butter is whipped and is typically sold in half-pound tubs. According to the complaint, Hotel Bar accounts for 27.8 percent of branded stick butter sales and 14.6 percent of branded whipped butter sales in the New York metropolitan area. In the New York area, Breakstone accounts for 11.7 percent of branded stick butter sales and 47.1 percent of branded whipped butter sales.