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Petition for approval of proposed divestiture: The Commission has received a petition from The Cypress Group, related to a 2001 consent order concerning Nestle Holdings, Inc. and Ralston Purina Company. In the petition, Cypress has requested FTC approval to sell The Meow Mix Company (TMMC) to the Del Monte Corporation. Under the 2001 FTC order, the Commission required the divestiture of the Meow Mix and Alley Cat brands of cat food to J.W. Childs Equity Partners II, L.P., and provided that any subsequent sale of these assets before February 4, 2007, would require the Commission’s approval. Accordingly, J.W. Childs, notified the FTC of its desire to sell these assets to Cypress, which is now seeking approval to sell the Meow Mix assets to Del Monte. In the petition, Cypress states that the proposed transaction will create a stronger and more efficient competitor to Nestle Purina in the cat food market, thus benefitting consumers.

The petition, which can be found as a link to this press release on the Commission’s Web site, will be subject to public comment for 30 days, until April 26, 2006, after which the FTC will decide whether to approve it. Comments should be sent to: FTC, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20580. (FTC Docket No. C-4028; the staff contact is Roberta Baruch, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-2861; see press releases dated December 11, 2001, and August 19, 2003.)

Commission approval of final consent order: Following a public comment period, the Commission has approved the issuance of a final consent order in the matter concerning the Healthcare Alliance of Laredo, L.C. The Commission vote approving issuance of the final order was 5-0. (FTC File No. 041-0097; the staff contact is John DeGeeter, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-2783.)

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC’s Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. Call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.