WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Quincy, Illinois tire manufacturer will pay a $130,000 civil penalty to settle charges that it violated antitrust premerger reporting requirements, said the Department of Justice.

The Department's Antitrust Division today filed a civil suit against Titan Wheel International Inc. for acquiring control of a Pirelli Armstrong Tire Corp. plant in Des Moines, Iowa, without properly notifying federal antitrust authorities of the $41 million acquisition between the parties. The suit and a proposed settlement were filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., at the request of the Federal Trade Commission. The settlement, which must be approved by the court, would settle the suit.

The Hart-Scott-Rodino Act of 1976, imposes notification and waiting period requirements on individuals and companies over a certain size before they consummate acquisitions of stock or assets over a certain value or ownership percentage.

A description of the case is contained in the attached press release from the Federal Trade Commission.

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