“The $4.5 million penalty marks the largest civil penalty ever collected in an FTC case involving a prior-notice violation. It is also the largest negotiated settlement of any order violation in the FTC Bureau of Competition’s history,” the agency said.
In 2018, 7-Eleven entered into a consent order with the FTC to resolve antitrust claims made by the agency alleging that the company’s acquisition of 1,100 retail fuel outlets from energy company Sunoco would “harm competition and raise fuel prices for consumers in 76 local markets.”
In the deal, 7-Eleven agreed to sell off some of the fuel outlets and notify the FTC before making any more acquisitions of competing outlets in local markets. Under the agreement, the FTC was authorized to file an enforcement action, if necessary, once the agency determined that additional acquisitions were harmful to consumer interests.
The consent order explicitly prohibited 7-Eleven from acquiring a store in St. Petersburg, Florida, without notifying the FTC. However, 7-Eleven went on to buy the outlet in December 2018.
“Tellingly, by not providing the Commission with prior notice, 7-Eleven deprived the Commission of its opportunity to investigate and seek to prevent this anticompetitive acquisition as the Consent Order requires,” it said.
“The Consent Order is designed to protect consumers from anticompetitive acquisitions, which could lead to higher retail fuel prices, among other consumer harms.”
Almost two years after the lawsuit was filed, 7-Eleven has decided to settle it by paying $4.5 million in civil penalties.
In addition to penalties, 7-Eleven is required to sell its St. Petersburg outlet. The company must also commit to additional prior approval and notice requirements for acquiring any more outlets, according to the FTC statement.
“Under the Trump-Vance FTC, merger remedies that protect competition are once again on the table. But for merger remedies to work, firms must abide by the terms of their consent orders, and we will hold parties accountable when they don’t live up to their commitments,” said Daniel Guarnera, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition.
“7-Eleven failed to fulfill the terms of the FTC’s consent order and is now paying a record price. The FTC will not hesitate to protect the public by actively enforcing order violations and seeking penalties against future violators.”
The Epoch Times reached out to 7-Eleven for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
Based in Irving, Texas, 7-Eleven is owned by Japanese company Seven & I Holdings Co. Ltd. In the United States and Canada, 7-Eleven operates, licenses, and franchises more than 13,000 stores.
The FTC’s action against 7-Eleven is one of the latest antitrust decisions the agency has taken under the Trump administration.
In February, Anderson told commission staff that the FTC would continue to follow merger guidelines initiated by Khan during her tenure.
In addition to evidence of direct consumer harm, the FTC under Khan widened the scope of its scrutiny to include the size and market share of companies involved in mergers and acquisitions.
