A PYMNTS Company

US: Paper cos resolve undercover collaboration spat with DOJ

By  |  November 9, 2014

The US Department of Justice announced Friday that it has reached a settlement with two paper companies it says forged a merger without properly notifying authorities of their plans.

Reports say Flakeboard American and SierraPine have settled the allegations and agreed to repay up to $1.15 million in illegal profits. Additionally, say reports, the companies agreed to pay $3.8 million in fines.

The DOJ accused the paper manufacturers of colluding in the wake of a failed merger; Flakeboard announced last January that it would acquire three SierraPine mills, but the deal was called off after authorities signaled they would not approve of the transaction.

The DOJ found that while merger review was ongoing, one SierraPine mill was closed and its customers were shifted to Flakeboard, along with commercially sensitive information.

Full content: Reuters

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