UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Plaintiff,
v.
CAMERON INTERNATIONAL
CORPORATION
and
NATCO GROUP INC.
Defendants.
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CASE NO.: 09-cv-2165
Judge Rosemary M. Collyer
Date: April 30, 2010
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FINAL JUDGMENT
WHEREAS, Plaintiff, United States of America, filed its Complaint on November 17,
2009, the United States and defendants, Cameron International Corporation ("Cameron") and
NATCO Group Inc. ("NATCO"), by their respective attorneys, have consented to the entry of
this Final Judgment without trial or adjudication of any issue of fact or law, and without this Final
Judgment constituting any evidence against or admission by any party regarding any issue of fact
or law;
AND WHEREAS, defendants agree to be bound by the provisions of this Final Judgment
pending its approval by the Court;
AND WHEREAS, the essence of this Final Judgment is the prompt and certain divestiture
of certain rights or assets by the defendants to assure that competition is not substantially
lessened;
AND WHEREAS, the United States requires defendants to make certain divestitures for
the purpose of remedying the loss of competition alleged in the Complaint;
AND WHEREAS, defendants have represented to the United States that the divestitures
required below can and will be made and that defendants will later raise no claim of hardship or
difficulty as grounds for asking the Court to modify any of the divestiture provisions contained
below;
NOW THEREFORE, before any testimony is taken, without trial or adjudication of any
issue of fact or law, and upon consent of the parties, it is ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND
DECREED:
I. Jurisdiction
This Court has jurisdiction over the subject matter of and each of the parties to this action.
The Complaint states a claim upon which relief may be granted against defendants under Section
7 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. § 18, as amended.
II. Definitions
As used in this Final Judgment:
- "Acquirer" or "Acquirers" mean the entity or entities to whom defendants
shall divest the Divestiture Assets.
- "Cameron" means defendant Cameron International
Corporation, a Delaware corporation with its headquarters in Houston, Texas,
its successors and assigns, and its subsidiaries, divisions, groups, affiliates,
partnerships and joint ventures, and all of their directors, officers, managers,
agents, and employees.
- "NATCO" means defendant NATCO Group Inc., a Delaware
corporation with its headquarters in Houston, Texas, its successors and assigns,
and its subsidiaries, divisions, groups, affiliates, partnerships and joint
ventures, and all of their directors, officers, managers, agents, and employees.
- "Closing Date" means
the date upon which each transfer of the Divestiture Assets from the defendants
to the Acquirer or Acquirers takes place.
- "Dual Frequency Products" means
downstream refinery desalters that utilize dual frequency transformers and
AC/DC power supplies.
- "Dual Frequency Technology" means any and all intellectual
property, data, drawings, ideas, designs, concepts, know-how, procedures,
processes, and any other assets primarily used in or necessary to the development,
production, sale, repair, or service of Dual Frequency Products owned or
controlled by defendants as of the time of the Closing Date.
- "EDGE Business" means the desalter and dehydrator assets purchased by Petreco
International, Inc. from Howe Baker Engineers Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Chicago
Bridge & Iron N.V., pursuant to an Asset Purchase Agreement dated October
7, 2005, and any additions or improvements to such assets made through the
Closing Date. The EDGE Business includes all inventory specifically related
to the EDGE Business as of the Closing Date.
- "Pilot plant" means equipment
used to evaluate and simulate performance of desalter technologies on oil
samples.
- "Refinery desalter" means customized electrostatic desalters used
in the downstream oil refining industry.
- "Divestiture Assets" means:
- All tangible assets primarily used in or
necessary to the EDGE Business, including, but not limited to, the inventory
of spare parts for the EDGE Business; engineering drawings and documents
related to all prior sales; all licenses, permits, and authorizations
issued by any governmental organization relating to the EDGE Business;
all contracts, teaming arrangements, agreements, leases, commitments,
certifications, and understandings, relating principally to the EDGE
Business, including supply agreements; all customer lists, contracts,
accounts, and credit records; all repair and performance records and
all other records relating to the EDGE Business;
- All intangible assets
primarily used in or necessary to the EDGE Business, including, but not
limited to, the EDGE Desalter Installation Database and any accompanying
design information; the unregistered trademarks "Edge" and
"EDGE"; all data concerning installations or pilot testing; the EDGE
Desalter Sizing Software Program and related documentation; any other
intellectual property including patents and patent applications, licenses
and sublicenses, copyrights, trademarks, trade names, service marks,
service names, slogans, domain names, logos, and trade dress related
to the EDGE Business; any other technical information, software and related
documentation, know-how, trade secrets, drawings, blueprints, designs,
design protocols, specifications for materials, specifications for parts
and devices, safety procedures for the handling of materials and substances,
quality assurance and control procedures, design tools and simulation
capability, manuals and technical information used principally for the
EDGE Business; all repair, performance, financial, and operational records,
and all other records relating to the EDGE Business; and all research
data concerning historic and current research and development efforts
relating to the EDGE Business, including, but not limited to, designs
of experiments, and the results of successful and unsuccessful designs
and experiments;
- At the Acquirer's option, Cameron's pilot plant located
in Houston, Texas or NATCO's pilot plant located in Tulsa, Oklahoma;
and
- A fully paid-up, non-exclusive, worldwide, non-sublicensable (except
to subcontractors of the Acquirer solely for the purpose of having Dual
Frequency Products made for the Acquirer) license to the Dual Frequency
Technology for the development, production, sale, repair, and service
of refinery desalters. This license shall be transferable two years after
divestiture of the Divestiture Assets. Defendants shall retain the right
and discretion to file and prosecute patent applications and maintain
patents in the United States relating to any Dual Frequency Technology
developed by defendants prior to the Closing Date, and any such patent
shall be considered part of the Dual Frequency Technology and be licensed
to the Acquirer. Any improvements or modifications to the Dual Frequency
Technology (whether or not patentable) developed by either the defendants
or the Acquirer shall be owned solely by such party.
III. Applicability
- This Final Judgment applies to Cameron and NATCO, as defined above, and
all other persons in active concert or participation with either of them
who receive actual notice of this Final Judgment by personal service or otherwise.
- If,
prior to complying with Section IV and V of this Final Judgment, defendants
sell or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of their assets or
of lesser business units that include the Divestiture Assets, they shall
require the purchaser or purchasers to be bound by the provisions of this
Final Judgment. Defendants need not obtain such an agreement from the Acquirer
or Acquirers of the assets divested pursuant to this Final Judgment.
IV. Divestitures
- Defendants are ordered and directed, within ninety (90) calendar days after
the filing of the Complaint in this matter, or five (5) calendar days after
notice of the entry of this Final Judgment by the Court, whichever is later,
to divest the Divestiture Assets in a manner consistent with this Final Judgment
to an Acquirer or Acquirers acceptable to the United States, in its sole
discretion. The United States, in its sole discretion, may agree to one or
more extensions of this time period not to exceed sixty (60) calendar days
in total, and shall notify the Court in such circumstances. Defendants agree
to use their best efforts to divest the Divestiture Assets as expeditiously
as possible.
- In accomplishing the divestiture ordered by this Final Judgment,
defendants promptly shall make known, by usual and customary means, the availability
of the Divestiture Assets. Defendants shall inform any person making an inquiry
regarding a possible purchase of the Divestiture Assets that they are being
divested pursuant to this Final Judgment and provide that person with a copy
of this Final Judgment. Defendants shall offer to furnish to all prospective
Acquirers, subject to customary confidentiality assurances, all information
and documents relating to the Divestiture Assets customarily provided in
a due diligence process except such information or documents subject to the
attorney-client privilege or work-product doctrine. Defendants shall make
available such information to the United States at the same time that such
information is made available to any other person.
- Defendants shall provide
the Acquirers or Acquirers and the United States information relating to
the personnel involved in the development, production, sale, repair, and
service of refinery desalters to enable them to make offers of employment.
Defendants shall not interfere with any negotiations by the Acquirer or Acquirers
to employ any defendant employee whose primary responsibility is development,
production, sale, repair, and service of refinery desalters.
- Defendants shall
permit prospective Acquirers of the Divestiture Assets to have reasonable
access to personnel and to make inspections of the physical facilities used
for the Divestiture Assets; access to any and all environmental, zoning,
and other permit documents and information; and access to any and all financial,
operational, or other documents and information customarily provided as part
of a due diligence process.
- Defendants shall warrant to the Acquirer or Acquirers
that each asset will be operational on the date of sale.
- Defendants shall
not take any action that will impede in any way the permitting, operation,
or divestiture of the Divestiture Assets.
- At the option of the Acquirer
or Acquirers, defendants shall enter into a transition services agreement
sufficient to meet all or part of the Acquirers' needs for assistance in
matters relating to the utilization of the Divestiture Assets (including,
but not limited to, the use of EDGE Desalter Sizing Software Program and
the interpretation of test and field data) for a period of at least six (6)
months. The terms and conditions of any contractual arrangement meant to
satisfy this provision must be reasonably related to the market value of
the expertise of the personnel providing any needed assistance.
- Defendants
shall warrant to the Acquirer or Acquirers that there are no material defects
in the environmental, zoning or other permits pertaining to the operation
of each asset, and that following the sale of the Divestiture Assets, defendants
will not undertake, directly or indirectly, any challenges to the environmental,
zoning, or other permits relating to the operation of the Divestiture Assets.
- Unless
the United States otherwise consents in writing, the divestiture pursuant
to Section IV, or by trustee appointed pursuant to Section V, of this Final
Judgment, shall include the entire Divestiture Assets, and shall be accomplished
in such a way as to satisfy the United States, in its sole discretion, that
the Divestiture Assets can and will be used by the Acquirer or Acquirers
as part of viable, ongoing businesses for the development, production, sale,
repair, and service of refinery desalters. Divestiture of the Divestiture
Assets may be made to one or more Acquirers, provided that the Divestiture
Assets listed in paragraphs II(J)(1) and (2), above, are divested to the
same Acquirer, that all the assets listed in paragraphs II(J)(3) and (4),
above, are divested to the same Acquirer, and that in each instance the divestitures,
whether pursuant to Section IV or Section V of this Final Judgment:
- shall
remedy the harm alleged in the Complaint;
- shall be made to an Acquirer
or Acquirers that, in the United States's sole judgment, have the intent
and capability (including the necessary managerial, operational, technical,
and financial capability) of competing effectively for the development,
production, sale, repair, and service of refinery desalters; and
- shall
be accomplished so as to satisfy the United States, in its sole discretion,
that none of the terms of any agreement between the Acquirer or Acquirers
and defendants gives defendants the ability unreasonably to raise the
Acquirers' costs, to lower the Acquirers' efficiency, or otherwise to
interfere in the ability of the Acquirers to compete effectively.
V. Appointment of Trustee
- If defendants have not divested the Divestiture Assets within the time
period specified in Section IV(A), defendants shall notify the United States
of that fact in writing. Upon application of the United States, the Court
shall appoint a trustee selected by the United States and approved by the
Court to effect the sale of the Divestiture Assets.
- After the appointment
of a trustee becomes effective, only the trustee shall have the right to
sell the Divestiture Assets. The trustee shall have the power and authority
to accomplish the divestiture to one or more Acquirers acceptable to the
United States at such price and on such terms as are then obtainable upon
reasonable effort by the trustee, subject to the provisions of Sections IV,
V, and VI of this Final Judgment, and shall have such other powers as this
Court deems appropriate. Subject to Section V(D) of this Final Judgment,
the trustee may hire at the cost and expense of defendants any investment
bankers, attorneys, or other agents, who shall be solely accountable to the
trustee, reasonably necessary in the trustee's judgment to assist in the
divestiture.
- Defendants shall not object to a sale by the trustee on any ground
other than the trustee's malfeasance. Any such objections by defendants must
be conveyed in writing to the United States and the trustee within ten (10)
calendar days after the trustee has provided the notice required under Section
VI.
- The trustee shall serve at the cost and expense of defendants, on such
terms and conditions as the United States approves, and shall account for
all monies derived from the sale of the assets sold by the trustee and all
costs and expenses so incurred. After approval by the Court of the trustee's
accounting, including fees for its services and those of any professionals
and agents retained by the trustee, all remaining money shall be paid to
defendants and the trust shall then be terminated. The compensation of the
trustee and any professionals and agents retained by the trustee shall be
reasonable in light of the value of the Divestiture Assets and based on a
fee arrangement providing the trustee with an incentive based on the price
and terms of the divestiture and the speed with which it is accomplished,
but timeliness is paramount.
- Defendants shall use their best efforts to
assist the trustee in accomplishing the required divestiture. The trustee
and any consultants, accountants, attorneys, and other persons retained by
the trustee shall have full and complete access to the personnel, books,
records, and facilities of the business to be divested, and defendants shall
develop financial and other information relevant to such business as the
trustee may reasonably request, subject to reasonable protection for trade
secret or other confidential research, development, or commercial information.
Defendants shall take no action to interfere with or to impede the trustee's
accomplishment of the divestiture.
- After its appointment, the trustee shall
file monthly reports with the United States and the Court setting forth the
trustee's efforts to accomplish the divestiture ordered under this Final
Judgment. To the extent such reports contain information that the trustee
deems confidential, such reports shall not be filed in the public docket
of the Court. Such reports shall include the name, address, and telephone
number of each person who, during the preceding month, made an offer to acquire,
expressed an interest in acquiring, entered into negotiations to acquire,
or was contacted or made an inquiry about acquiring, any interest in the
Divestiture Assets, and shall describe in detail each contact with any such
person. The trustee shall maintain full records of all efforts made to divest
the Divestiture Assets.
- If the trustee has not accomplished the divestiture
ordered under this Final Judgment within six (6) months after its appointment,
the trustee shall promptly file with the Court a report setting forth: (1)
the trustee's efforts to accomplish the required divestiture; (2) the reasons,
in the trustee's judgment, why the required divestiture has not been accomplished;
and (3) the trustee's recommendations. To the extent such reports contain
information that the trustee deems confidential, such reports shall not be
filed in the public docket of the Court. The trustee shall at the same time
furnish such report to the United States which shall have the right to make
additional recommendations consistent with the purpose of the trust. The
Court thereafter shall enter such orders as it shall deem appropriate to
carry out the purpose of the Final Judgment, which may, if necessary, include
extending the trust and the term of the trustee's appointment by a period
requested by the United States.
VI. Notice of Proposed Divestiture
- Within two (2) business days following execution of a definitive divestiture
agreement, defendants or the trustee, whichever is then responsible for effecting
the divestiture required herein, shall notify the United States of any proposed
divestiture required by Section IV or V of this Final Judgment. If the trustee
is responsible, it shall similarly notify the defendants. The notice shall
set forth the details of the proposed divestiture and list the name, address,
and telephone number of each person not previously identified who offered
or expressed an interest in or desire to acquire any ownership interest in
the Divestiture Assets, together with full details of the same.
- Within fifteen
(15) calendar days of receipt by the United States of such notice, the United
States may request from defendants, the proposed Acquirer or Acquirers, any
other third party, or the trustee, if applicable, additional information
concerning the proposed divestiture, the proposed Acquirer or Acquirers,
and any other potential Acquirer. Defendants and the trustee shall furnish
any additional information requested within fifteen (15) calendar days of
the receipt of the request, unless the parties shall otherwise agree.
- Within
thirty (30) calendar days after receipt of the notice or within twenty (20)
calendar days after the United States has been provided the additional information
requested from defendants, the Acquirer or Acquirers or any proposed Acquirer,
any third party, and the trustee, whichever is later, the United States shall
provide written notice to defendants and the trustee stating whether or not
it objects to the proposed divestiture. If the United States provides written
notice that it does not object, the divestiture may be consummated, subject
only to defendants' limited right to object to the sale under Section V(C)
of this Final Judgment. Absent written notice that the United States does
not object to the proposed Acquirer(s) or upon objection by the United States,
a divestiture proposed under Section V shall not be consummated. Upon objection
by defendants under Section V(C), a divestiture proposed under Section V
shall not be consummated unless approved by the Court.
VII. Financing
Defendants shall not finance all or any part of any purchase made pursuant to Section IV
or V of this Final Judgment.
VIII. Hold Separate Stipulation and Order
Until the divestiture required by this Final Judgment has been accomplished, defendants
shall take all steps necessary to comply with the Hold Separate Stipulation and Order entered by
this Court. Defendants shall take no action that would jeopardize the divestiture ordered by this
Court.
IX. Affidavits
- Within twenty (20) calendar days of the filing of the Complaint in this
matter, and every thirty (30) calendar days thereafter until the divestiture
has been completed under Section IV or V, defendants shall deliver to the
United States an affidavit as to the fact and manner of its compliance with
Section IV or V of this Final Judgment. Each such affidavit shall include
the name, address, and telephone number of each person who, during the preceding
thirty (30) calendar days, made an offer to acquire, expressed an interest
in acquiring, entered into negotiations to acquire, or was contacted or made
an inquiry about acquiring, any interest in the Divestiture Assets, and shall
describe in detail each contact with any such person during that period.
Each such affidavit shall also include a description of the efforts defendants
have taken to solicit buyers for the Divestiture Assets, and to provide required
information to prospective Acquirers, including the limitations, if any,
on such information. Assuming the information set forth in the affidavit
is true and complete, any objection by the United States to information provided
by defendants, including limitations on the information, shall be made within
fourteen (14) calendar days of receipt of such affidavit.
- Within twenty (20)
calendar days of the filing of the Complaint in this matter, defendants shall
deliver to the United States an affidavit that describes in reasonable detail
all actions defendants have taken and all steps defendants have implemented
on an ongoing basis to comply with Section VIII of this Final Judgment. Defendants
shall deliver to the United States an affidavit describing any changes to
the efforts and actions outlined in defendants' earlier affidavits filed
pursuant to this section within fifteen (15) calendar days after the change
is implemented.
- Defendants shall keep all records of all efforts made to preserve
and divest the Divestiture Assets until one year after such divestiture has
been completed.
X. Compliance Inspection
- For the purposes of determining or securing compliance with this
Final Judgment, or of determining whether the Final Judgment should be modified
or vacated, and subject to any legally recognized privilege, from time to
time authorized representatives of the United States Department of Justice
Antitrust Division ("United States"), including consultants and other
persons retained by the United States, shall, upon written request of an
authorized representative of the Assistant Attorney General in charge of
the Antitrust Division, and on reasonable notice to defendants, be permitted:
- access during defendants' office hours to inspect and copy, or at
the option of the United States, to require defendants to provide hard
copy or electronic copies of, all books, ledgers, accounts, records,
data, and documents in the possession, custody, or control of defendants,
relating to any matters contained in this Final Judgment; and
- to interview,
either informally or on the record, defendants' officers, employees,
or agents, who may have their individual counsel present, regarding such
matters. The interviews shall be subject to the reasonable convenience
of the interviewee and without restraint or interference by defendants.
- Upon the written request of an authorized representative of the Assistant
Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division, defendants shall
submit written reports or responses to written interrogatories, under
oath if requested, relating to any of the matters contained in this Final
Judgment as may be requested.
- No information or documents obtained by the
means provided in this section shall be divulged by the United States to
any person other than an authorized representative of the executive branch
of the United States, except in the course of legal proceedings to which
the United States is a party (including grand jury proceedings), or for the
purpose of securing compliance with this Final Judgment, or as otherwise
required by law.
- If at the time information or documents are furnished
by defendants to the United States, defendants represent and identify in
writing the material in any such information or documents to which a claim
of protection may be asserted under Rule 26(c)(1)(G) of the Federal Rules
of Civil Procedure, and defendants mark each pertinent page of such material, "Subject to
claim of protection under Rule 26(c)(1)(G) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure," then
the United States shall give defendants ten (10) calendar days notice prior
to divulging such material in any legal proceeding (other than a grand jury
proceeding).
XI. Notification of Future Transactions
Unless such transaction is otherwise subject to the reporting and waiting period
requirements of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, 15
U.S.C. § 18a (the "HSR Act"), defendants, without providing advance notification to the
Antitrust Division, shall not directly or indirectly acquire any assets of or interest, including any
financial, security, loan, equity or management interest, in any entity that has sold, at any time in
the three years prior to the Closing Date, a downstream refinery desalter that was used in or
purchased by a customer in the United States during the term of this Final Judgment.
Such notification shall be provided to the Antitrust Division in the same format as, and per
the instructions relating to the Notification and Report Form set forth in the Appendix to Part 803
of Title 16 of the Code of Federal Regulations as amended, except that the information requested
in Items 5 through 9 of the instructions must be provided only about refinery desalters.
Notification shall be provided at least thirty (30) calendar days prior to acquiring any such
interest, and shall include, beyond what may be required by the applicable instructions, the names
of the principal representatives of the parties to the agreement who negotiated the agreement, and
any management or strategic plans discussing the proposed transaction. If within the 30-day
period after notification, representatives of the Antitrust Division make a written request for
additional information, defendants shall not consummate the proposed transaction or agreement
until thirty (30) calendar days after submitting all such additional information. Early termination
of the waiting periods in this paragraph may be requested and, where appropriate, granted in the
same manner as is applicable under the requirements and provisions of the HSR Act and rules
promulgated thereunder. This Section shall be broadly construed and any ambiguity or
uncertainty regarding the filing of notice under this Section shall be resolved in favor of filing
notice.
XII. No Reacquisition
Defendants may not reacquire any part of the Divestiture Assets during the term of this
Final Judgment.
XIII. Retention of Jurisdiction
This Court retains jurisdiction to enable any party to this Final Judgment to apply to this
Court at any time for further orders and directions as may be necessary or appropriate to carry
out or construe this Final Judgment, to modify any of its provisions, to enforce compliance, and to
punish violations of its provisions.
XIV. Expiration of Final Judgment
Unless this Court grants an extension, this Final Judgment shall expire ten (10) years from
the date of its entry.
XV. Public Interest Determination
Entry of this Final Judgment is in the public interest. The parties have complied with the
requirements of the Antitrust Procedures and Penalties Act, 15 U.S.C. § 16, including making
copies available to the public of this Final Judgment, the Competitive Impact Statement, and any
comments thereon and the United States's responses to comments. Based upon the record before
the Court, which includes the Competitive Impact Statement and any comments and response to
comments filed with the Court, entry of this Final Judgment is in the public interest.
Date: ___________________________________
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Court approval subject to procedures
of Antitrust Procedures and Penalties
Act, 15 U.S.C. § 16
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