Diamond Acquisition Expected to Close Today; FTC Rep Comments on Hart-Scott Rodino Act

As of late this afternoon, the sales of the assets of Diamond Glass to Belron US had not been completed, though Belron US spokesperson Jenny Cain advised it was still expected to. Diamond Glass counsel Michael Richman of Foley & Lardner advised the court at a hearing on June 20 that sale was expected to close on June 30, barring the companies' need to file under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act.

"We anticipate that the closing will take place as scheduled, but nothing is final yet," says Cain.

On Friday, Cain had advised the company had been advised that the Hart-Scott-Rodino filing was unnecessary.

A representative of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which governs the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, said today that while Hart-Scott-Rodino filings are private and are not available for public record, the need to file or not to file is "pretty clear-cut."

"Typically, if the value of the sale is more than $63.1 million, the filing is needed, and if it's below that, it's not-though there are exceptions," he said.

Richman advised the court during the June 20 hearing that the Belron US bid for Diamond was $54 million, with the agreement that Belron US would assume $9 million in liabilities for the Kingston, Pa.-based company-totaling $63 million, falling just below the $63.1 million cut-off the FTC representative noted. At that time, the court approved the sale of Diamond to Belron US "sale order substantially as it [was described on June 20]." (CLICK HERE for related story.)

If and when a Hart-Scott-Rodino filing is made, the FTC, along with the Department of Justice, are given a period of time to review a sale for anti-trust issues, prior to its closing. (CLICK HERE for more information on the act.)

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