Large corporations that want to keep acquiring specialty and emergency veterinary hospitals in the United States appear to be running out of headroom.
Concern that ownership has become too concentrated has prompted the Federal Trade Commission to order National Veterinary Associates (NVA) to sell six such hospitals — three in California and three in Texas.
The magnitude of the intervention, announced this month, is significant. NVA had agreed to assume ownership of the hospitals through a $1.1 billion acquisition of Sage Veterinary Centers, announced last year. Given that Sage owned 16 hospitals at the time, the order means NVA is parting with more than one-third of the assets it had intended to obtain from the deal.
The six clinics, all being sold to Florida-based United Veterinary Care, comprise three in Austin, Texas, and one each in San Mateo, Berkeley and Fairfield, California.
The focus turns now to how the FTC will treat NVA’s acquisition of Ethos Veterinary Health, which owns 23 specialist and emergency hospitals in the US That deal was made public last August, about two months after the Sage acquisition was announced.
Regarding Ethos, FTC spokesperson Betsy Lordan said the regulator doesn’t comment on whether it may take action pertaining to particular deals. It makes a public announcement only if and when it takes action, she said. NVA spokesperson Laura Koester didn’t comment on the Ethos deal and would only refer the VIN News Service to a press release issued by NVA on June 3 stating that the acquistion of Sage had been completed.
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
DOJ and FTC Introduce Website for Reporting Anti-Competitive Healthcare Practices
Apr 18, 2024 by
CPI
US Congress Advances Legislation to Compel TikTok Sale
Apr 18, 2024 by
CPI
UK Financial Sector Advocates Enhanced Regulatory Accountability
Apr 18, 2024 by
CPI
Google and All 50 States Defend $700 Million Consumer Settlement
Apr 18, 2024 by
CPI
Colorado Enacts First Law to Protect Consumer Brainwave Data
Apr 18, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Economics of Criminal Antitrust
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Navigating Economic Expert Work in Criminal Antitrust Litigation
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
The Increased Importance of Economics in Cartel Cases
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
A Law and Economics Analysis of the Antitrust Treatment of Physician Collective Price Agreements
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Information Exchange In Criminal Antitrust Cases: How Economic Testimony Can Tip The Scales
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI