U.S. Probing Takeover of Thatcher Glass Co.

The Department of Justice is investigating possible anti-trust violations in a Pennsylvania glass company’s takeover of Thatcher Glass Co.

The probe centers on whether Malvern, Pa.-based Diamond-Bathurst Inc. conspired to restrain trade by purchasing Thatcher and then closing its plants, including one in Wharton, to reduce competition, according to a letter from the department.

“This investigation is focusing on whether there was a conspiracy by manufacturers of glass containers to restrain trade by agreeing to acquire assets of Thatcher in such a fashion so as to eliminate one or more of Thatcher’s plants as a competitor,” says the letter by U.S. Assistant Attorney General Douglas H. Ginsburg.

Ginsburg noted in his letter that there did not appear to be a violation of the Clayton Antitrust Act, which “prohibits mergers that may substantially lessen competition,” said Lautenberg spokesman Chris Walsh.

The probe is aimed at violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act, which restricts agreements between companies not to compete with each other, according to Ginsburg, head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division.