Air Medical Group Holdings, Inc., KKR North America Fund XI (AMG) LLC, and AMR Holdco, Inc.; Analysis To Aid Public Comment, 11527-11529 [2018-05251]
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 51 / Thursday, March 15, 2018 / Notices
11527
EARLY TERMINATIONS GRANTED—Continued
JANUARY 1, 2018 THRU JANUARY 31, 2018
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PAI Europe VI–I FPCI; Sun Capital Partners V, L.P.; PAI Europe VI–I FPCI.
Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc.; Harvest Partners VI, L.P.; Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc.
LB Spectrum Holdings, LLC; AT&T Inc.; LB Spectrum Holdings, LLC.
McDermott International, Inc.; Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V.; McDermott International, Inc.
Rockland Power Partners III, LP; The AES Corporation; Rockland Power Partners III, LP.
PAI Europe VI–1 FPCI; Refresco Group N.V.; PAI Europe VI–1 FPCI.
Corning Incorporated; 3M Company; Corning Incorporated.
Crestview Partners III, L.P.; Marlin Equity III, L.P.; Crestview Partners III, L.P.
Blue Water Aggregates Fund LP; Thomas S. Hoover, Sr.; Blue Water Aggregates Fund LP.
Softbank Group Corp.; Lemonade, Inc.; Softbank Group Corp.
Manulife Financial Corporation; Sodim SGPS, S.A.; Manulife Financial Corporation.
SCANA Corporation; LS Power Equity Partners III, L.P.; SCANA Corporation.
Diligere Holdings, L.P.; Diamond Parent Holdings, Corp.; Diligere Holdings, L.P.
M III Acquisition Corp.; Oaktree Power Opportunities Fund III, L.P.; M III Acquisition Corp.
Fluidra, S.A.; Piscine Luxembourg Holdings 1 S.a.r.l.; Fluidra, S.A.
Clearlake Capital Partners V, L.P.; Saw Mill Capital Partners, LP; Clearlake Capital Partners V, L.P.
Blue Water Aggregates Fund LP; Ephriam H. Hoover, III; Blue Water Aggregates Fund LP.
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Starboard Value and Opportunity Fund Ltd.; Cars.com Inc.; Starboard Value and Opportunity Fund Ltd.
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TPG VI Wolverine Co-Invest, LP; Assurant, Inc.; TPG VI Wolverine Co-Invest, LP.
TPG Partners VI–AIV, L.P.; Assurant, Inc.; TPG Partners VI–AIV, L.P.
Campbell Soup Company; Snyder’s-Lance, Inc.; Campbell Soup Company.
Celgene Corporation; Impact Biomedicines, Inc.; Celgene Corporation.
Discovery Global Opportunity Fund, Ltd.; Urban Compass, Inc.; Discovery Global Opportunity Fund, Ltd.
Hopmeadow Cayman GP LLC; The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.; Hopmeadow Cayman GP LLC.
Pamlico Capital Management LP; Mr. Thomas E. McInerney and Ms. Paula McInerney; Pamlico Capital Management LP.
Indigo Natural Resources LLC; Indigo Haynesville LLC; Indigo Natural Resources LLC.
Indigo Natural Resources LLC; M5 Midstream LLC; Indigo Natural Resources LLC.
Starr International Company, Inc.; New Mountain Partners IV (AIV–B), L.P.; Starr International Company, Inc.
Sompo Holdings, Inc.; Lexon Surety Group, LLC; Sompo Holdings, Inc.
Accel-KKR Capital Partners V, LP; Pylon Capital LLC; Accel-KKR Capital Partners V, LP.
LifeBridge Health, Inc.; Affinity Health Alliance, Inc.; LifeBridge Health, Inc.
Platinum Equity Capital Partners IV, L.P.; Winter Street Opportunities Fund, L.P.; Platinum Equity Capital Partners IV, L.P.
Apollo VIII Uniform Investor, L.P.; FCFI Acquisition LLC; Apollo VIII Uniform Investor, L.P.
KKR North America XI (Indigo) Blocker Parent L.P.; Avvo, Inc.; KKR North America XI (Indigo) Blocker Parent L.P.
Kinder Morgan, Inc.; The Southern Company; Kinder Morgan, Inc.
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Conagra Brands, Inc.; Kangaroo Brands, Inc.; Conagra Brands, Inc.
Omnicom Group Inc.; Brenda Snow; Omnicom Group Inc.
Omnicom Group Inc.; Corbin Wood; Omnicom Group Inc.
Mercury Fortuna Buyer, LLC; Shahriar ‘‘James’’ Ekbatani; Mercury Fortuna Buyer, LLC.
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Compass Diversified Holdings; Warren F. Florkiewicz; Compass Diversified Holdings.
Energy Capital Partners IV–A, LP; KS Family Holdings Corporation; Energy Capital Partners IV–A, LP.
Frederic Sanchez; Novafives SAS; Frederic Sanchez.
Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc.; Practice Fusion, Inc.; Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc.
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Theresa Kingsberry, Program Support
Specialist, Federal Trade Commission
Premerger Notification Office, Bureau of
Competition, Room CC–5301,
Washington, DC 20024, (202) 326–3100.
By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018–05248 Filed 3–14–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750–01–P
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:34 Mar 14, 2018
Jkt 244001
[File No. 171 0217]
Air Medical Group Holdings, Inc., KKR
North America Fund XI (AMG) LLC, and
AMR Holdco, Inc.; Analysis To Aid
Public Comment
AGENCY:
ACTION:
PO 00000
Federal Trade Commission.
Proposed consent agreement.
Frm 00040
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
The consent agreement in this
matter settles alleged violations of
federal law prohibiting unfair methods
of competition. The attached Analysis to
Aid Public Comment describes both the
allegations in the complaint and the
terms of the consent orders—embodied
in the consent agreement—that would
settle these allegations.
SUMMARY:
Comments must be received on
or before April 6, 2018.
DATES:
E:\FR\FM\15MRN1.SGM
15MRN1
11528
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 51 / Thursday, March 15, 2018 / Notices
Interested parties may file a
comment online or on paper, by
following the instructions in the
Request for Comment part of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section
below. Write: ‘‘Air Medical Group
Holdings, Inc., KKR North America
Fund XI (AMG) LLC, and AMR Holdco,
Inc.; File No. 1710217, Docket No. C–
4642’’ on your comment, and file your
comment online at https://
ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/kkr
envisionamgconsent by following the
instructions on the web-based form. If
you prefer to file your comment on
paper, write ‘‘Air Medical Group
Holdings, Inc., KKR North America
Fund XI (AMG) LLC, and AMR Holdco,
Inc.; File No. 1710217, Docket No. C–
4642’’ on your comment and on the
envelope, and mail your comment to the
following address: Federal Trade
Commission, Office of the Secretary,
600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite
CC–5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC
20580, or deliver your comment to the
following address: Federal Trade
Commission, Office of the Secretary,
Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW,
5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex D),
Washington, DC 20024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sylvia Kundig (415–848–5188), Western
Region-San Francisco, 901 Market
Street, Suite 570, San Francisco, CA
94103.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant
to Section 6(f) of the Federal Trade
Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and
FTC Rule 2.34, 16 CFR 2.34, notice is
hereby given that the above-captioned
consent agreement containing a consent
order to cease and desist, having been
filed with and accepted, subject to final
approval, by the Commission, has been
placed on the public record for a period
of thirty (30) days. The following
Analysis to Aid Public Comment
describes the terms of the consent
agreement, and the allegations in the
complaint. An electronic copy of the
full text of the consent agreement
package can be obtained from the FTC
Home Page (for March 7, 2018), on the
World Wide Web, at https://
www.ftc.gov/news-events/commissionactions.
You can file a comment online or on
paper. For the Commission to consider
your comment, we must receive it on or
before April 6, 2018. Write ‘‘Air Medical
Group Holdings, Inc., KKR North
America Fund XI (AMG) LLC, and AMR
Holdco, Inc.; File No. 1710217, Docket
No. C–4642’’ on your comment. Your
comment—including your name and
your state—will be placed on the public
record of this proceeding, including, to
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
ADDRESSES:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:34 Mar 14, 2018
Jkt 244001
the extent practicable, on the public
Commission website, at https://
www.ftc.gov/policy/public-comments.
Postal mail addressed to the
Commission is subject to delay due to
heightened security screening. As a
result, we encourage you to submit your
comments online. To make sure that the
Commission considers your online
comment, you must file it at https://
ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/kkr
envisionamgconsent by following the
instructions on the web-based form. If
this Notice appears at https://
www.regulations.gov/#!home, you also
may file a comment through that
website.
If you prefer to file your comment on
paper, write ‘‘Air Medical Group
Holdings, Inc., KKR North America
Fund XI (AMG) LLC, and AMR Holdco,
Inc.; File No. 1710217, Docket No. C–
4642’’ on your comment and on the
envelope, and mail your comment to the
following address: Federal Trade
Commission, Office of the Secretary,
600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite
CC–5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC
20580, or deliver your comment to the
following address: Federal Trade
Commission, Office of the Secretary,
Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW,
5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex D),
Washington, DC 20024. If possible,
submit your paper comment to the
Commission by courier or overnight
service.
Because your comment will be placed
on the publicly accessible FTC website
at https://www.ftc.gov, you are solely
responsible for making sure that your
comment does not include any sensitive
or confidential information. In
particular, your comment should not
include any sensitive personal
information, such as your or anyone
else’s Social Security number; date of
birth; driver’s license number or other
state identification number, or foreign
country equivalent; passport number;
financial account number; or credit or
debit card number. You are also solely
responsible for making sure that your
comment does not include any sensitive
health information, such as medical
records or other individually
identifiable health information. In
addition, your comment should not
include any ‘‘trade secret or any
commercial or financial information
which . . . is privileged or
confidential’’—as provided by Section
6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and
FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)—
including in particular competitively
sensitive information such as costs,
sales statistics, inventories, formulas,
patterns, devices, manufacturing
processes, or customer names.
PO 00000
Frm 00041
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Comments containing material for
which confidential treatment is
requested must be filed in paper form,
must be clearly labeled ‘‘Confidential,’’
and must comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c).
In particular, the written request for
confidential treatment that accompanies
the comment must include the factual
and legal basis for the request, and must
identify the specific portions of the
comment to be withheld from the public
record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c). Your
comment will be kept confidential only
if the General Counsel grants your
request in accordance with the law and
the public interest. Once your comment
has been posted on the public FTC
website—as legally required by FTC
Rule 4.9(b)—we cannot redact or
remove your comment from the FTC
website, unless you submit a
confidentiality request that meets the
requirements for such treatment under
FTC Rule 4.9(c), and the General
Counsel grants that request.
Visit the FTC website at https://
www.ftc.gov to read this Notice and the
news release describing it. The FTC Act
and other laws that the Commission
administers permit the collection of
public comments to consider and use in
this proceeding, as appropriate. The
Commission will consider all timely
and responsive public comments that it
receives on or before April 6, 2018. For
information on the Commission’s
privacy policy, including routine uses
permitted by the Privacy Act, see
https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/
privacy-policy.
Analysis of Proposed Consent Orders
To Aid Public Comment
I. Introduction
The Federal Trade Commission
(‘‘Commission’’) has accepted, subject to
final approval, an Agreement
Containing Consent Orders (‘‘Consent
Agreement’’) with KKR North America
Fund XI (AMG), LLC, Air Medical
Group Holdings, Inc., (‘‘AMGH’’), and
AMR Holdco, Inc. (‘‘AMR’’). The
Consent Agreement is intended to
remedy the anticompetitive effects that
likely would result from AMGH’s
proposed acquisition of AMR (the
‘‘Acquisition’’). Under the terms of the
Consent Agreement, AMR must sell its
inter-facility air medical transport
services business in Hawaii. The
Acquisition, if consummated, would
result in the consolidation of the only
two inter-facility air medical transport
service providers in Hawaii.
The Consent Agreement has been
placed on the public record for 30 days
to solicit comments from interested
persons. Comments received during this
E:\FR\FM\15MRN1.SGM
15MRN1
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 51 / Thursday, March 15, 2018 / Notices
period will become part of the public
record. After 30 days, the Commission
will again review the Consent
Agreement and the comments received,
and will decide whether it should
withdraw from the Consent Agreement,
modify it, or make final the Decision
and Order (‘‘Order’’).
II. The Parties
A. AMGH
AMGH is wholly owned by KKR
North America Fund XI (AMG) LLC. It
is likely the largest provider of air
ambulance services in the United States
with 270 operating locations in 38
states. AMGH operates as Hawaii Life
Flight in Hawaii.
B. AMR
AMR is a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Envision Healthcare and is the largest
national ground ambulance provider in
the United States, but also provides air
ambulance services in several locations.
In Hawaii, it provides both ground
ambulance services and inter-facility air
ambulance transport services. To
provide inter-facility air ambulance
transport services, AMR partners with
LifeTeam, an air ambulance provider
located in the Midwest, which has the
necessary FAA licenses and
certifications, and provides the pilots
and maintenance for the fixed-wing
aircraft. AMR handles the marketing,
medical personnel, and billing for the
services provided.
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
III. The Proposed Acquisition
Under an agreement executed on
August 7, 2017, AMGH will acquire 100
percent of the voting stock of AMR in
a deal valued at approximately $2.4
billion.
The Commission’s Complaint alleges
that the Acquisition, if consummated
would violate Section 7 of the Clayton
Act, as amended, 15 U.S.C. 18, and
Section 5 of the FTC Act, as amended,
15 U.S.C. 45, by substantially lessening
competition for the provision of interfacility air ambulance transport services
in Hawaii.
IV. The Relevant Market and Structure
of the Markets
The Commission’s Complaint alleges
that the relevant product market in
which to analyze the Acquisition is the
provision of inter-facility air ambulance
transport services. These services
consist of air ambulance services that
transfer patients between medical
facilities on different islands, including
from medical facilities with low acuity
or limited patient treatment capabilities
to those that can provide the
appropriate medical and surgical care.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:34 Mar 14, 2018
Jkt 244001
The Commission’s Complaint alleges
that the relevant geographic market in
which to analyze the effects of the
Acquisition is the State of Hawaii.
The Commission’s Complaint alleges
that the Acquisition will increase
concentration in an already highly
concentrated market. AMGH and AMR
are the only two providers of interfacility air ambulance transport services
in Hawaii.
V. Effects of the Transaction
According to the Commission, the
effect of the Acquisition, if
consummated, may be substantially to
lessen competition and tend to create a
monopoly in inter-facility air ambulance
transport services, and increase the
likelihood of the unilateral exercise of
market power. The Acquisition would
increase the likelihood that consumers,
third-party payers, or government health
care providers would be forced to pay
higher prices or experience degradation
in service or quality.
VI. Entry Conditions
The Commission’s Complaint alleges
that entry into the relevant market
would not be timely, likely, or sufficient
to deter or counteract the
anticompetitive effects of the
Acquisition. The primary barrier to
entry is the lack of sufficient volume of
referrals and payments from third party
payers to justify the economic risk of
new entry, even if the parties imposed
a small but significant non-transitory
increase in price (SSNIP).
VII. The Proposed Consent Agreement
The proposed Consent Agreement
remedies the anticompetitive concerns
raised by the Acquisition by requiring
AMR to sell its inter-facility air
ambulance transport services business,
including the assets that support that
business, to AIRMD, LLC, dba LifeTeam.
LifeTeam is a large, established
company with experience in the
industry. It is also the current operator
of the FAA certified aircraft used by
AMR for inter-facility air ambulance
transport services in Hawaii, and thus
very familiar with AMR’s assets and
operations in Hawaii. Under the
proposed Consent Agreement, AMR will
divest to LifeTeam the four-fixed wing
aircraft it uses to fly patients interisland, support LifeTeam’s application
for a Certificate of Need with the State
of Hawaii to operate ground
ambulances, and offer LifeTeam the
option to purchase up to four ground
ambulances from AMR. LifeTeam would
use the ground ambulances to support
its air ambulance transport service to
PO 00000
Frm 00042
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
11529
transfer patients to and from medical
facilities and the aircraft it operates.
The proposed Consent Agreement
also contains an Order to Maintain
Assets that will issue at the time the
proposed Consent Agreement is
accepted for public comment. The Order
to Maintain Assets requires
Respondents to operate and maintain
the divestiture assets in the normal
course of business through the date that
the Respondents complete divestiture of
the assets, thereby maintaining the
economic viability, marketability, and
competitiveness of the assets. The Order
to Maintain Assets also authorizes the
Commission to appoint an independent
third party as a monitor to oversee the
Respondents’ compliance with the
requirements of the proposed Consent
Agreement.
The purpose of this analysis is to
facilitate public comment on the
proposed Consent agreement, and the
Commission does not intend this
analysis to constitute an official
interpretation of the proposed Consent
Agreement or to modify its terms in any
way.
By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018–05251 Filed 3–14–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750–01–P
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
[File No. 161 0230]
Oregon Lithoprint, Inc.; Analysis To
Aid Public Comment
Federal Trade Commission.
Proposed consent agreement.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The consent agreement in this
matter settles alleged violations of
federal law prohibiting unfair methods
of competition. The attached Analysis to
Aid Public Comment describes both the
allegations in the complaint and the
terms of the consent order—embodied
in the consent agreement—that would
settle these allegations.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before April 8, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a
comment online or on paper, by
following the instructions in the
Request for Comment part of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section
below. Write: ‘‘In the Matter of
Oregon Lithoprint, Inc., File No. 161
0230’’ on your comment, and file your
comment online at https://
ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/oregon
lithoprintconsent by following the
instructions on the web-based form. If
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\15MRN1.SGM
15MRN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 51 (Thursday, March 15, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11527-11529]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-05251]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
[File No. 171 0217]
Air Medical Group Holdings, Inc., KKR North America Fund XI (AMG)
LLC, and AMR Holdco, Inc.; Analysis To Aid Public Comment
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Proposed consent agreement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged
violations of federal law prohibiting unfair methods of competition.
The attached Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes both the
allegations in the complaint and the terms of the consent orders--
embodied in the consent agreement--that would settle these allegations.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 6, 2018.
[[Page 11528]]
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write: ``Air Medical Group
Holdings, Inc., KKR North America Fund XI (AMG) LLC, and AMR Holdco,
Inc.; File No. 1710217, Docket No. C-4642'' on your comment, and file
your comment online at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/kkrenvisionamgconsent by following the instructions on the web-based
form. If you prefer to file your comment on paper, write ``Air Medical
Group Holdings, Inc., KKR North America Fund XI (AMG) LLC, and AMR
Holdco, Inc.; File No. 1710217, Docket No. C-4642'' on your comment and
on the envelope, and mail your comment to the following address:
Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania
Avenue NW, Suite CC-5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver
your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office
of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW, 5th Floor,
Suite 5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC 20024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sylvia Kundig (415-848-5188), Western
Region-San Francisco, 901 Market Street, Suite 570, San Francisco, CA
94103.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Section 6(f) of the Federal
Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 2.34, 16 CFR 2.34,
notice is hereby given that the above-captioned consent agreement
containing a consent order to cease and desist, having been filed with
and accepted, subject to final approval, by the Commission, has been
placed on the public record for a period of thirty (30) days. The
following Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes the terms of the
consent agreement, and the allegations in the complaint. An electronic
copy of the full text of the consent agreement package can be obtained
from the FTC Home Page (for March 7, 2018), on the World Wide Web, at
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/commission-actions.
You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before April 6, 2018.
Write ``Air Medical Group Holdings, Inc., KKR North America Fund XI
(AMG) LLC, and AMR Holdco, Inc.; File No. 1710217, Docket No. C-4642''
on your comment. Your comment--including your name and your state--will
be placed on the public record of this proceeding, including, to the
extent practicable, on the public Commission website, at https://www.ftc.gov/policy/public-comments.
Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to
heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit
your comments online. To make sure that the Commission considers your
online comment, you must file it at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/kkrenvisionamgconsent by following the instructions on the web-
based form. If this Notice appears at https://www.regulations.gov/#!home, you also may file a comment through that website.
If you prefer to file your comment on paper, write ``Air Medical
Group Holdings, Inc., KKR North America Fund XI (AMG) LLC, and AMR
Holdco, Inc.; File No. 1710217, Docket No. C-4642'' on your comment and
on the envelope, and mail your comment to the following address:
Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania
Avenue NW, Suite CC-5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver
your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office
of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW, 5th Floor,
Suite 5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC 20024. If possible, submit your
paper comment to the Commission by courier or overnight service.
Because your comment will be placed on the publicly accessible FTC
website at https://www.ftc.gov, you are solely responsible for making
sure that your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential
information. In particular, your comment should not include any
sensitive personal information, such as your or anyone else's Social
Security number; date of birth; driver's license number or other state
identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number;
financial account number; or credit or debit card number. You are also
solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include
any sensitive health information, such as medical records or other
individually identifiable health information. In addition, your comment
should not include any ``trade secret or any commercial or financial
information which . . . is privileged or confidential''--as provided by
Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2),
16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--including in particular competitively sensitive
information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas,
patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.
Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is
requested must be filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled
``Confidential,'' and must comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c). In particular,
the written request for confidential treatment that accompanies the
comment must include the factual and legal basis for the request, and
must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from
the public record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c). Your comment will be kept
confidential only if the General Counsel grants your request in
accordance with the law and the public interest. Once your comment has
been posted on the public FTC website--as legally required by FTC Rule
4.9(b)--we cannot redact or remove your comment from the FTC website,
unless you submit a confidentiality request that meets the requirements
for such treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and the General Counsel
grants that request.
Visit the FTC website at https://www.ftc.gov to read this Notice and
the news release describing it. The FTC Act and other laws that the
Commission administers permit the collection of public comments to
consider and use in this proceeding, as appropriate. The Commission
will consider all timely and responsive public comments that it
receives on or before April 6, 2018. For information on the
Commission's privacy policy, including routine uses permitted by the
Privacy Act, see https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy.
Analysis of Proposed Consent Orders To Aid Public Comment
I. Introduction
The Federal Trade Commission (``Commission'') has accepted, subject
to final approval, an Agreement Containing Consent Orders (``Consent
Agreement'') with KKR North America Fund XI (AMG), LLC, Air Medical
Group Holdings, Inc., (``AMGH''), and AMR Holdco, Inc. (``AMR''). The
Consent Agreement is intended to remedy the anticompetitive effects
that likely would result from AMGH's proposed acquisition of AMR (the
``Acquisition''). Under the terms of the Consent Agreement, AMR must
sell its inter-facility air medical transport services business in
Hawaii. The Acquisition, if consummated, would result in the
consolidation of the only two inter-facility air medical transport
service providers in Hawaii.
The Consent Agreement has been placed on the public record for 30
days to solicit comments from interested persons. Comments received
during this
[[Page 11529]]
period will become part of the public record. After 30 days, the
Commission will again review the Consent Agreement and the comments
received, and will decide whether it should withdraw from the Consent
Agreement, modify it, or make final the Decision and Order (``Order'').
II. The Parties
A. AMGH
AMGH is wholly owned by KKR North America Fund XI (AMG) LLC. It is
likely the largest provider of air ambulance services in the United
States with 270 operating locations in 38 states. AMGH operates as
Hawaii Life Flight in Hawaii.
B. AMR
AMR is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Envision Healthcare and is the
largest national ground ambulance provider in the United States, but
also provides air ambulance services in several locations. In Hawaii,
it provides both ground ambulance services and inter-facility air
ambulance transport services. To provide inter-facility air ambulance
transport services, AMR partners with LifeTeam, an air ambulance
provider located in the Midwest, which has the necessary FAA licenses
and certifications, and provides the pilots and maintenance for the
fixed-wing aircraft. AMR handles the marketing, medical personnel, and
billing for the services provided.
III. The Proposed Acquisition
Under an agreement executed on August 7, 2017, AMGH will acquire
100 percent of the voting stock of AMR in a deal valued at
approximately $2.4 billion.
The Commission's Complaint alleges that the Acquisition, if
consummated would violate Section 7 of the Clayton Act, as amended, 15
U.S.C. 18, and Section 5 of the FTC Act, as amended, 15 U.S.C. 45, by
substantially lessening competition for the provision of inter-facility
air ambulance transport services in Hawaii.
IV. The Relevant Market and Structure of the Markets
The Commission's Complaint alleges that the relevant product market
in which to analyze the Acquisition is the provision of inter-facility
air ambulance transport services. These services consist of air
ambulance services that transfer patients between medical facilities on
different islands, including from medical facilities with low acuity or
limited patient treatment capabilities to those that can provide the
appropriate medical and surgical care. The Commission's Complaint
alleges that the relevant geographic market in which to analyze the
effects of the Acquisition is the State of Hawaii.
The Commission's Complaint alleges that the Acquisition will
increase concentration in an already highly concentrated market. AMGH
and AMR are the only two providers of inter-facility air ambulance
transport services in Hawaii.
V. Effects of the Transaction
According to the Commission, the effect of the Acquisition, if
consummated, may be substantially to lessen competition and tend to
create a monopoly in inter-facility air ambulance transport services,
and increase the likelihood of the unilateral exercise of market power.
The Acquisition would increase the likelihood that consumers, third-
party payers, or government health care providers would be forced to
pay higher prices or experience degradation in service or quality.
VI. Entry Conditions
The Commission's Complaint alleges that entry into the relevant
market would not be timely, likely, or sufficient to deter or
counteract the anticompetitive effects of the Acquisition. The primary
barrier to entry is the lack of sufficient volume of referrals and
payments from third party payers to justify the economic risk of new
entry, even if the parties imposed a small but significant non-
transitory increase in price (SSNIP).
VII. The Proposed Consent Agreement
The proposed Consent Agreement remedies the anticompetitive
concerns raised by the Acquisition by requiring AMR to sell its inter-
facility air ambulance transport services business, including the
assets that support that business, to AIRMD, LLC, dba LifeTeam.
LifeTeam is a large, established company with experience in the
industry. It is also the current operator of the FAA certified aircraft
used by AMR for inter-facility air ambulance transport services in
Hawaii, and thus very familiar with AMR's assets and operations in
Hawaii. Under the proposed Consent Agreement, AMR will divest to
LifeTeam the four-fixed wing aircraft it uses to fly patients inter-
island, support LifeTeam's application for a Certificate of Need with
the State of Hawaii to operate ground ambulances, and offer LifeTeam
the option to purchase up to four ground ambulances from AMR. LifeTeam
would use the ground ambulances to support its air ambulance transport
service to transfer patients to and from medical facilities and the
aircraft it operates.
The proposed Consent Agreement also contains an Order to Maintain
Assets that will issue at the time the proposed Consent Agreement is
accepted for public comment. The Order to Maintain Assets requires
Respondents to operate and maintain the divestiture assets in the
normal course of business through the date that the Respondents
complete divestiture of the assets, thereby maintaining the economic
viability, marketability, and competitiveness of the assets. The Order
to Maintain Assets also authorizes the Commission to appoint an
independent third party as a monitor to oversee the Respondents'
compliance with the requirements of the proposed Consent Agreement.
The purpose of this analysis is to facilitate public comment on the
proposed Consent agreement, and the Commission does not intend this
analysis to constitute an official interpretation of the proposed
Consent Agreement or to modify its terms in any way.
By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-05251 Filed 3-14-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P