In his letter, Kohl, who heads the antitrust subcommittee of the Senate's Judiciary
Committee, says he's "concluded that these acquisitions, if permitted
to proceed, would likely cause substantial harm to competition and
consumers," and as a result, he wants Barnett to "take enforcement
action to block these acquisitions."
Although Kohl is correct in noting that the deal would boost JBS Swift to the nation's No. 1 slot, it's not clear that DOJ
will block it. During Barnett's tenure, he has declined to take any
deal to court, though some deals have been quietly scuttled and others
have been approved with divestitures.
Kohl's
letter suggests that Barnett force the parties to at least find another
buyer for Five Rivers Ranch Cattle Feeding LLC, a group of feedlots in
several Western states that fatten calves for convenient nearby
slaughter. But at a Senate hearing more than a month ago, JBS Swift CEO Wesley Batista testified that those feedlots are an essential element of the deal.
Rumors
are swirling that Barnett is poised to return to law firm life, most
likely at his old haunt, Covington & Burling LLP in Washington. If
he does move, it is even less likely that an acting AAG would put the
brakes on a deal that's already spent months under review. -
Cecile Kohrs Lindell
