Otto Bock HealthCare North America, the maker of microprocessor prosthetic knees, must undo its 2017 merger with a former competitor, Freedom Innovations, an administrative law judge ruled May 7.
The Federal Trade Commission’s Chief Administrative Law Judge Michael Chappell found that the completed deal between the two top sellers of prosthetic knees will likely lead to a rise in prices and eventually decrease innovation in the market.
“[T]he evidence in this proceeding proves that the acquisition will significantly increase concentration in the relevant MPK market, which gives rise to a presumption that the acquisition may substantially lessen competition,” Judge Chappell wrote in the decision.
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