Case Study – Securing a Favorable Antitrust Review Outcome

A major US-based sugar producer announced the acquisition of a large refinery owned by another major competitor in the US market. 

Our role

When the US Department of Justice (DOJ) objected to the transaction, or team was engaged to provide strategic communications counsel to the company, including providing insight into the DOJ’s communications approach from our colleague who was a former DOJ spokesperson. 

Our client decided to fight the department and take the case to trial. Leading up to the trial, our team worked with legal counsel to ensure filings conveyed the key points, not only about the weakness of the government’s legal arguments, but also about the positive value of the transaction. 

Our team arranged background conversations with reporters to emphasize that the transaction would save jobs, enhance the local economy, enable the company to increase production, and be good for US farmers and customers. The background conversations also noted that the Department of Agriculture’s own economist favored the transaction. Further, we helped to identify validators in the legal arena, provided on-the-ground counsel during trial, and drafted a series of statements for various potential outcomes.   

Our Impact

Our client secured a favorable outcome. Following the victory, our team helped to ensure that local community figures would publicly express support of the transaction.