Washington, DC - Following today’s announcement by Superior Plus Corp. that it would abandon plans to acquire Canexus Corporation, the Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition, Debbie Feinstein, said:

“The abandonment of this transaction means that Superior and Canexus will continue to compete as independent companies, and that is a very good thing for consumers. Although many of us may never have heard of sodium chlorate, it is used in a range of consumer products including paper manufacturing, and the combination of Superior and Canexus likely would have led to higher prices.”

On Monday the Commission voted 3-0 to file an administrative complaint and authorize staff to seek a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in federal court to stop the proposed $982 million acquisition.

The FTC charged that the proposed merger would likely reduce competition in the North American market for sodium chlorate – a commodity chemical used to bleach wood pulp that is then processed into paper, tissue, diaper liners, and other products.