Justice Department Approves Maytag/Whirlpool Combination

question 2

Essay

Justice Department Approves Maytag/Whirlpool Combination
Despite Resulting Increase in Concentration

When announced in late 2005, many analysts believed that the $1.7 billion transaction would face heated anti-trust regulatory opposition. The proposed bid was approved despite the combined firms' dominant market share of the U.S. major appliance market. The combined companies would control an estimated 72 percent of the washer market, 81 percent of the gas dryer market, 74 percent of electric dryers, and 31 percent of refrigerators. Analysts believed that the combined firms would be required to divest certain Maytag product lines to receive approval. Recognizing the potential difficulty in getting regulatory approval, the Whirlpool/Maytag contract allowed Whirlpool (the acquirer) to withdraw from the contract by paying a "reverse breakup" fee of $120 million to Maytag (the target). Breakup fees are normally paid by targets to acquirers if they choose to withdraw from the contract.

U.S. regulators tended to view the market as global in nature. When the appliance market is defined in a global sense, the combined firms' share drops to about one fourth of the previously mentioned levels. The number and diversity of foreign manufacturers offered a wide array of alternatives for consumers. Moreover, there are few barriers to entry for these manufacturers wishing to do business in the United States. Many of Whirlpool's independent retail outlets wrote letters supporting the proposal to acquire Maytag as a means of sustaining financially weakened companies. Regulators also viewed the preservation of jobs as an important consideration in its favorable ruling.

-What is anti-trust policy and why is it important?

Identify respiratory diseases and their transmission modes.

Understand and apply the correct ICD-10 coding for various respiratory conditions.

Recognize the causes and treatments for pleuritic conditions.

Understand diagnostic and therapeutic procedures relevant to pleural and respiratory diseases.

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Definitions:

Practical Constraints

Limitations arising from real-world conditions that affect how a task or goal can be achieved.

Zeigarnik Effect

The psychological tendency to remember uncompleted or interrupted tasks better than completed tasks.

Goal Shielding

Refers to the cognitive process of protecting one’s primary goal from interference by secondary goals, ensuring focus and increasing the likelihood of achieving the primary objective.

Goal Shielding

The process by which focusing on a primary goal allows an individual to resist distractions and inhibit irrelevant actions, thus shielding the goal from disruption.