[Federal Register: January 8, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 5)]
[Notices]
[Page 1290-1291]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08ja04-21]
[[Page 1290]]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
[Docket No. 9300]
Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V., et al; Public Comment on
Consent Agreement and Interim Consent Order
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Order Accepting Consent Agreement for Public Comment and
Issuing Interim Consent Order.
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SUMMARY: On December 12, 2003, Complaint Counsel and Respondents in
this matter filed a Joint Motion To Accept Interim Consent Order, and
on December 19, 2003, the Commission issued an Order Accepting Consent
Agreement for Public Comment and Issuing Interim Consent Order. This
Notice describes the terms of the Interim Consent Order.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 15, 2004.
ADDRESSES: Comments filed in paper form should be mailed or delivered,
as prescribed in the Supplementary Information section, to the
following address: Federal Trade Commission/Office of the Secretary,
Room 159-H, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20580.
Comments filed in electronic form (except comments containing any
confidential material) should be sent, as prescribed in the
Supplementary Information section, to the following email box:
consentagreement@ftc.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donald S. Clark, Office of the
Secretary, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326-2514.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Section 6(f) of the Federal
Trade Commission Act, 38 Stat. 721, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and Sec. 3.25 of
the Commission Rules of Practice, 16 CFR 3.25, notice is hereby given
that the above-captioned Consent Agreement has been accepted for public
comment; that the above-captioned Interim Consent Order has been issued
by the Commission; and that both documents have been placed on the
public record for a period ending on January 15, 2004. The Interim
Consent Order is set forth below. In addition, electronic copies of the
Interim Consent Order and other relevant documents can be obtained from
the FTC Home Page (for January 2, 2004), on the World Wide Web, at
http://www.ftc.gov/os/2004/01/index.htm. A paper copy can be obtained
from the FTC Public Reference Room, Room 130-H, 600 Pennsylvania
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20580, either in person or by calling (202)
326-2222.
Comments from members of the public are invited, and may be filed
with the Commission in either paper or electronic form.
1. A public comment filed in paper form should be mailed or
delivered to the following address: Federal Trade Commission/Office of
the Secretary, Room 159-H, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC
20580. If the comment contains any material for which confidential
treatment is requested, it must be filed in paper (rather than
electronic) form, and the first page of the document must be clearly
labeled ``Confidential.'' \1\
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\1\ Commission Rule 4.2(d), 16 CFR 4.2(d). The comment must also
be accompanied by an explicit request for confidential treatment,
including the factual and legal basis for the request, and must
identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from
the public record. The request will be granted or denied by the
Commission's General Counsel, consistent with applicable law and the
public interest. See Commission Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
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2. A public comment that does not contain any material for which
confidential treatment is requested may instead be filed in electronic
form (in ASCII format, WordPerfect, or Microsoft Word), as part of or
as an attachment to an e-mail message sent to the following e-mail box:
consentagreement@ftc.gov.
3. Regardless of the form in which they are filed, all timely
comments will be considered by the Commission, and will be available
(with confidential material redacted) for public inspection and copying
on the Commission Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and at its principal
office. As a matter of discretion, the Commission makes every effort to
remove home contact information for individuals from the public
comments it receives, before placing those comments on the FTC Web
site.
Interim Consent Order
This matter having been heard by the Commission upon Respondents'
and Complaint Counsel's stipulation that the following Interim Consent
Order (``Order'') be issued and be effective upon service pending the
issuance of a Final Order and Opinion of the Commission in this matter,
which is still forthcoming,
It is hereby ordered:
A. Respondents shall prevent the destruction, removal, wasting,
deterioration, sale, disposition, transfer, or impairment of the PDM
Assets, except in the ordinary course of business or for ordinary wear
and tear. ``PDM Assets'' means all right, title, and interest in and to
all assets, tangible or intangible, acquired by CB&I from PDM in the
Acquisition, and any improvements or additions made to such assets by
CB&I subsequent to February 7, 2001, including but not limited to:
1. All real property (including fee simple interests and real
property leasehold interests), including, but not limited to, the
fabrication facilities located at Provo, Utah; Clive, Iowa; and Warren,
Pennsylvania;
2. All personal property, including machinery and equipment;
3. All inventories, stores, and supplies;
4. All rights under any contract, including, but not limited to,
any lease, customer contracts, supply agreement, sole-source
arrangement, and procurement contract;
5. All intellectual property;
6. All governmental approvals, consents, licenses, permits,
waivers, or other authorizations;
7. All rights under warranties and guarantees, express or implied;
8. All items of prepaid expense; and
9. All books, records, and files (electronic and hard copy)
relating to the foregoing.
B. In the event that Respondents decide to remove, sell, cease
operations of, lease, assign, transfer, license, or otherwise dispose
of any assets, tangible or intangible, at its Provo, Utah fabrication
facility, Respondents shall notify the Secretary, Complaint Counsel,
and the Compliance Division not later than sixty (60) days before
taking such action. Nothing herein shall be construed to preclude the
Commission from seeking judicial relief, if warranted, to block such
action.
C. Respondents shall take such steps to notify its employees at the
Provo fabrication facility that CB&I has no present intention of
removing, selling, ceasing operations of, leasing, assigning,
transferring, licensing, or otherwise disposing of the Provo
fabrication facility. Such actions shall include:
1. notifying its current employees at the Provo fabrication
facility in writing that any outstanding notice to terminate their
employment or suspend operations at the Provo facility is rescinded and
that operations of the Provo facility shall continue until further
notice, consistent with CB&I's press release dated December 9, 2003;
2. retract any notices made pursuant to the Worker Adjustment and
Retraining Notification (WARN) Act concerning the proposed temporary
suspension of operations at the Provo facility.
D. Nothing in this Order shall be interpreted to decide any issues
or grant Respondents any authority as to any
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issues that are not expressly stated or addressed herein.
It is further ordered that Respondents shall provide a copy of this
Order to each of Respondents' officers, employees, or agents having
managerial responsibility for any of Respondents' obligations under
this Order, no later than five (5) days from the date this Order
becomes final.
By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 04-357 Filed 1-7-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P