Tyson Foods has reached a settlement in principle of antitrust claims over its alleged role in an industrywide scheme to inflate the price of turkey, according to a notice filed Wednesday in a federal court in Chicago.
“The parties are working to finalize and document all the terms of that agreement,” the restaurants and retailers leading the case say. They’ll seek its approval “in the near future,” according to the filing, which doesn’t disclose any settlement terms.
Tyson’s proposed deal with the “commercial and institutional indirect purchasers” is the first by any of the poultry processors facing these price-fixing suits. Butterball, Kraft Heinz Food, Tyson and other top agribusinesses were hit with an antitrust lawsuit in Chicago federal court claiming they used lessons learned from an alleged chicken price-fixing conspiracy to prop up the cost of turkey.
The suit also targets Agri Stats Inc., which runs a “secretive” industry pricing database. The poultry producers used it to exchange “detailed financial and production data” with one another, which let them “easily identify” which turkey products they were selling for less than their competitors, according to the Dec. 19 complaint.
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Pfizer Settles Remaining Effexor XR Antitrust Claims for $25.5 Million
Apr 29, 2024 by
CPI
South Korean Regulator Approves LG Uplus and Kakao Mobility EV Charging Venture
Apr 29, 2024 by
CPI
Federal Judge Dismisses Doctors’ Antitrust Suit Against Ohio Health System
Apr 29, 2024 by
CPI
Paramount CEO Bob Bakish Steps Down as Merger Inches Closer
Apr 29, 2024 by
CPI
EU Brands Apple’s iPadOS as Gatekeeper in Tech Crackdown
Apr 29, 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