UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff,
v.
ALCAN INC.,
ALCAN ALUMINUM CORP.,
PECHINEY, S.A., and
PECHINEY ROLLED PRODUCTS, LLC,
Defendants.
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Case No. 1:030 CV 02012-GK
Judge Gladys Kessler
Deck Type: Antitrust
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UNITED STATES'S ANSWER TO THE AMENDED
COMPLAINT OF INTERVENOR STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA
The United States of America, acting under the direction of the Attorney General of the
United States, answers each allegation of the Amended Complaint of Intervenor State of West
Virginia ("Amended Complaint in Intervention") as follows:
- "West Virginia does not oppose the acquisition of Defendant Pechiney, S.A., by
Defendant Alcan Aluminum Corporation. It does however, oppose the proposed
Amended Final Judgment filed by the United States on May 26, 2004."
The United States admits this allegation of the Amended Complaint in Intervention.
- "Under the proposed Amended Final Judgment, Defendants are given 180 days to
sell either Alcan's Brazing Sheet Business or Pechiney's Brazing Sheet Business.
It is alleged in the Complaint filed by the United States on September 29, 2003,
that a combination of the Alcan and Pechiney brazing sheet businesses would
account for over 40% of all brazing sheet sold in North America and that it would
"likely result in an increase in brazing sheet prices and a reduction in quality and
innovation for brazing sheet in violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Act, as
amended, 15 U.S.C. §18."
The United States admits that the terms of the Amended Final Judgment ("AFJ") would
provide defendants up to 180 days after filing, or five days after the AFJ's entry, whichever is
latest, to divest either Alcan's or Pechiney's brazing sheet business. The United States also
admits that the Complaint in the case charged that Alcan's proposed acquisition of Pechiney
would violate Section 7 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. § 18, as explained in the Complaint. The
United States denies all other allegations of this paragraph of the Amended Complaint in
Intervention.
- "On May 26, 2004, Alcan issued a press release announcing a plan to restructure
its product lines, spinning off some production facilities, including its brazing
sheet plants at Olean, New York, and Fairmont, West Virginia, to a newly formed
corporation. The press release states that "Alcan's proposed spin-off transaction
provides an alternative remedy to the existing order to divest the Ravenswood,
West Virginia rolling mill."
The United States admits the allegations of this paragraph of the Amended Complaint in
Intervention.
- "On the same day as Alcan's press release, the United States filed the proposed
Amended Final Judgment. This proposed judgment would allow Alcan to choose
whether to divest its own brazing sheet business or the brazing sheet business of
Pechiney within 180 days. The choice is evidently given to Alcan so that if the
restructuring announced in the press release is successful, resulting in the spin-off
of Alcan's brazing sheet production facilities at Olean and Fairmont to a new
company, Alcan could retain the Pechiney brazing sheet business, including the
facility in Ravenswood, West Virgnia ('the Ravenswood plant') at issue herein."
The United States admits that the AFJ, by its terms, allows defendants an opportunity to
elect whether to divest Alcan's or Pechiney's brazing sheet business by the divestiture deadline
set forth in the AFJ.
- "As of the date of filing of this Amended Complaint, the spin-off announced in
the Alcan press release of May 26, 2004, has not occurred."
The United States admits that the proposed spin-off has not occurred.
- "On the facts presented by the present situation, if the spin-off does not occur, the
Defendants will divest the Pechiney Brazing Sheet Business, defined in the
proposed Amended Final Judgment to consist of Pechiney's Ravenswood Plant."
The United States admits that if defendants do not elect to divest Alcan's brazing sheet
business to an acceptable purchaser, then they may choose to divest Pechiney's brazing sheet
business pursuant to the terms of the AFJ. The United States denies all other allegations of this
paragraph of the Amended Complaint in Intervention.
- "The proposed Amended Final Judgment's requirement of divestiture of the
Ravenswood plant is contrary to the public interest in that it would have
disastrous effects upon the State of West Virginia, its citizens and communities,
businesses operating within the state, the employment security of workers in the
state, and the security of retired persons within the state."
The United States denies the allegations of this paragraph of the Amended Complaint in
Intervention.
- "The divestiture of Pechiney's Brazing Sheet Business, compelled by the
proposed Amended Final Judgment if there is no spin-off, is unnecessary in light
of conditions in the brazing sheet market in the United States. If Alcan were to
continue to own the brazing sheet production facilities at Ravenswood, West
Virgnia, along with its other existing brazing sheet facilities, competition would
remain vigorous in the brazing sheet market and no injury to competition would
result."
The United States denies the allegations of this paragraph of the Amended Complaint in
Intervention.
- "The divestiture of Pechiney's Brazing Sheet Business, compelled by the
proposed Amended Final Judgment in the absence of spin-off, would include the
divestiture of assets having nothing to do with the brazing sheet market and,
hence, would adversely affect other markets not analyzed in the Department's
Amended Competitive Impact Statement. The Amended Competitive Impact
Statement should therefore be rejected by the Court."
The United States denies the allegations of this paragraph of the Amended Complaint in
Intervention.
- "Under the proposed Amended Final Judgment, in the absence of spin-off, the
defendants are directed to locate an Acquirer who would purchase the Pechiney
Rolled Products plant at the Ravenswood Plant. The plant is to be divested to the
Acquirer "as expeditiously as possible."
The United States admits that under the terms of the AFJ, the defendants may choose to
divest either Alcan's or Pechiney's brazing sheet business, and that the mandated divestiture
under the AFJ should be accomplished as expeditiously as possible. The United States denies all
other allegations of this paragraph of the Amended Complaint in Intervention.
- "In addition to brazing sheet, the Ravenswood Plant produces aluminum sheet,
plate and coil which is sold to the aerospace, transportation, and building products
industries. The total output of the Ravenswood plant is approximately 320
million pounds, only 72 million pounds of which is brazing sheet."
The United States admits that brazing sheet has, as a rule, comprised about thirty percent
of the total annual output of Pechiney's Ravenswood, West Virginia plant. Brazing sheet is,
however, a very high margin product compared to other items produced at that facility (e.g.,
aluminum sheet, plate and coil), and thus accounts for a disproportionately high percentage of the
Ravenswood plant's profits. The United States denies all other allegations of this paragraph of
the Amended Complaint in Intervention.
- "The Acquirer must demonstrate only that the acquired assets will be used 'as part
of a viable, ongoing business, engaged in developing, manufacturing, and selling
brazing sheet in North America.' Proposed Amended Final Judgment, ¶ IV.J.
This requirement ignores the important fact that brazing sheet is only one of the
products (22.5% of the total production) manufactured at Ravenswood."
The United States admits that under the AFJ, it will consider whether a proposed
purchaser will use either Alcan's or Pechiney's brazing sheet business as part of a viable,
ongoing business engaged in developing manufacturing, and selling brazing sheet in North
America. The United States denies all other allegations of this paragraph of the Amended
Complaint in Intervention.
- "The plant will not survive unless the Acquirer makes a commitment to make and
sell all of the Ravenswood products."
The United States admits that in reviewing a proposed Acquirer's qualifications, it will
consider that person's "managerial, operational, and financial capability" to compete effectively
in the sale of brazing sheet in North America, and that that necessarily will require an assessment
of the person's ability to operate the Ravenswood plant effectively. The United States denies all
other allegations of this paragraph of the Amended Complaint in Intervention.
- "Finding an Acquirer who would produce only brazing sheet, as contemplated by
the proposed Amended Final Judgment would not be in the public interest, but
would be a disaster to the State of West Virginia and its citizens. Operation of the
plant on that basis would lead inevitably to its closure, to the great detriment and
harm to thousands of people and hundreds of communities and businesses and the
public interest."
The United States denies that the AFJ "contemplates" "[f]inding an Acquirer who would
produce only brazing sheet." The AFJ requires that the divested assets be used as part of a
"viable, ongoing" business engaged in development, production, and sale of brazing sheet in
North America. That such a business enterprise can and should engage in development,
production, and sale of other products is "contemplated" by the AFJ, which requires defendants
to divest all tangible and intangible assets previously used by Alcan or Pechiney to develop,
produce, and sell not only brazing sheet, but all other products produced in the aluminum rolling
mill(s) required to be sold. The United States denies all other allegations of this paragraph of the
Amended Complaint in Intervention.
- "Because of the interdependence of the Pechiney plant and the nearby Century
Aluminum plant, it is only realistic to contemplate that the shutdown of one
would lead to the shutdown of, or at least substantial adverse impact to, the other
since the Century plant produces 375 million pounds of aluminum per year, of
which it sells 300 million pounds to Pechiney Rolled Products, its next-door
neighbor."
The United States denies the allegations of this paragraph of the Amended Complaint in
Intervention.
- "The States estimates that the closing of both plants would cause a direct
economic loss of $486 million to the State and $3.35 million annually in lost taxes
to Jackson County. The loss in manufacturing jobs alone would be 1,700."
The United States denies that the divestiture mandated by the proposed AFJ would cause
any loss, direct or otherwise, to the State of West Virginia or to Jackson County, West Virginia.
WHEREFORE, the United States requests that the Court:
- Dismiss, with prejudice, the Amended Complaint in Intervention for
failure to state any claim upon which relief may be granted in a proceeding
under the Tunney Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 16(b)-(h);
- Enter the proposed AFJ;
- Allow the United States to recover the costs of this action; and
- Order such other and further relief as the case requires and this Court may
deem proper.
Dated: September 20, 2004.
Respectfully submitted,
FOR PLAINTIFF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
_______________/s/________________
R. Hewitt Pate
Assistant Attorney General
DC Bar # 473598
_______________/s/________________
Thomas O. Barnett
Deputy Assistant Attorney General
DC Bar # 426840
_______________/s/________________
J. Robert Kramer II
Director of Operations & Civil Enforcement
PA Bar # 23963
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_______________/s/________________
Maribeth Petrizzi
Chief, Litigation II Section
DC Bar # 435204
_______________/s/________________
Anthony E. Harris
IL Bar # 1133713
Trial Attorney
U.S. Department of Justice,
Antitrust Division
Litigation II Section
1401 H Street, NW, Suite 3000
Washington, DC 20530
Telephone: (202) 307-6583
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I, Anthony E. Harris, hereby certify that on September 20, 2004, I caused copies of the
foregoing United States's Answer to the Amended Complaint of Intervenor State of West
Virginia to be served by mail by sending them first-class, postage prepaid, to duly authorized
legal representatives of the parties, as follows:
Counsel for Defendants Alcan Inc., Alcan Aluminum Corp., Pechiney, S.A., and Pechiney Rolled Products, LLC
Michael B. Miller, Esquire
New York Bar # MM1154
Sullivan & Cromwell
125 Broad Street
New York, NY 10004-2498
Peter B. Gronvall, Esquire
Sullivan & Cromwell
1701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Suite 800
Washington, DC 20006
Counsel for Intervenor State of West Virginia
Andrew G. Fusco, Esq.
West Virginia Bar # 1317
Special Assistant Attorney General
Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellot, PPLC
2400 Cranberry Square
Morgantown, WV 26508-9209
Edward J. Longosz, II, Esq.
DC Bar # 368932
Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellot, LLC
1747 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Suite 1200
Washington, DC 20006
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_______________/s/________________
Anthony E. Harris, Esquire
U.S. Department of Justice
Antitrust Division
1401 H Street, NW, Suite 3000
Washington, DC 20530
Telephone No.: (202) 307-6583
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