Dividing territories

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2008)

Competition law
Basic concepts
History of competition law Monopoly Coercive monopoly Natural monopoly Barriers to entry Market power SSNIP test Relevant market Merger control
Anti-competitive practices
Monopolization Collusion Formation of cartels Price fixing Bid rigging Product bundling and tying Refusal to deal Group boycott Exclusive dealing Dividing territories Conscious parallelism Predatory pricing Misuse of patents and copyrights
Laws and doctrines
United States Sherman Antitrust Act Clayton Antitrust Act Robinson-Patman Act FTC Act Hart-Scott-Rodino Act Merger guidelines Essential facilities doctrine Noerr-Pennington doctrine Parker immunity doctrine Rule of reason Europe UK competition law Irish competition law Australia Trade Practices Act 1974
Enforcement authorities and organizations
International Competition Network List of competition regulators
This box: view • talk • edit

Dividing territories (also Market division) is an agreement by two companies to stay out of each other's way and reduce competition in the agreed-upon territories. It is one of several anti-competitive practices outlawed in the United States. The term is generally understood to include dividing customers as well.

For example, in 1984 FMC Corp. and Asahi Chemical agreed to divide territories for the sale of microcrystalline cellulose, and later FMC attempted to eliminate all vestiges of competition by inviting smaller rivals also to collude. [1]