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FTC says PlayPower abandoned its proposed Burke acquisition after the agency and states sued

2 min read

Fictional editorial illustration reused from the Hugin archive; not documentary evidence or a depiction of either company's products.

The FTC says Platinum Equity and its portfolio company PlayPower abandoned the proposed acquisition of playground manufacturer BCI Burke after the agency and a dozen states sued to block it. An October 27 statement describes the deal as a threat to competition for schools, parks and other buyers. Its market shares and predicted benefits are the agency's account, not a court finding or measured price reduction.

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The Federal Trade Commission says Platinum Equity and its portfolio company PlayPower abandoned the proposed acquisition of playground manufacturer BCI Burke after the FTC and a dozen states sued to block it. The agency announced that development in an October 27 Bureau of Competition statement.

The statement identifies schools, churches, daycares and parks departments as playground buyers whose costs could be affected by competition between manufacturers.

The agency's competition concerns

Bureau director Daniel Guarnera said the five largest manufacturers, including PlayPower and Burke, control 85 to 90 percent of the commercial outdoor playground equipment market. He said the proposed combination would have reduced the number of major competitors from five to four and put more than 30 percent of the relevant market under PlayPower's owners.

Those are the agency's market descriptions. The statement does not present the underlying market study or establish a court finding on those figures.

Guarnera described the proposed deal as the latest in a series of PlayPower acquisitions. He said smaller manufacturers often lack the distribution channels, sales representatives, safety certifications, manufacturing capacity and product portfolios needed to replace the competition the transaction would have removed.

What it means for playground buyers

The director said state and municipal governments spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually on playground equipment. He argued that continued head-to-head competition would benefit taxpayers and other buyers through price, quality, service and innovation.

These are predicted benefits of keeping the manufacturers separate, not measured savings. The statement provides no new price list or estimate of what a particular school or parks department will save.

What the statement establishes

The FTC reports that the acquisition was abandoned following its enforcement action. Its account is not a judgment that the companies violated antitrust law, and it does not set out the disposition of the lawsuit.

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