Saint-Gobain/Norton Industrial Ceramics Corporation; Consent Agreement With Analysis To Aid Public Comment

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In settlement of alleged violations of federal law prohibiting unfair acts and practices and unfair methods of competition, this consent agreement, accepted subject to final Commission approval, would require the Worcester, Massachusetts-based corporation--a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary controlled by Compagnie de Saint-Gobain, a French company--to divest businesses and associated assets in the United States markets for fused cast refractories, hot surface igniters, and silicon carbide refractory bricks. The consent agreement settles allegations that Saint-Gobain's acquisition of The Carborundum Company from the British Petroleum Company likely would lead to monopolies or near monopolies in each of these markets, which supply products used in industrial furnaces and home appliances.