Juul electronic cigarettes are seen on the counter of a vape store in Santa Monica, California, U.S. June 23, 2022. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo Acquire license rights
WASHINGTON, July 3 (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Monday it had dismissed a complaint against Marlboro cigarette maker Altria Group. (MON) and e-cigarette maker Juul Labs, which was formed after Altria purchased a 35% stake in Juul.
The agency also said it will overturn an FTC administrative law judge’s ruling in favor of the companies in February 2022. Since it was overturned, it cannot be cited as precedent, the agency said in the press release announcing that it was abandoning the litigation.
The FTC said in 2020 that Altria’s $12.8 billion investment violated antitrust law because the company acquired the position rather than continuing to compete with Juul in the closed-system e-cigarette market.
Altria had left the game earlier this year and had asked the FTC to drop the challenge. As of December, its stake in Juul was valued at $250 million, up from $12.8 billion in 2018.
Altria said Monday it was pleased the FTC had dropped its complaint.
Regardless of the FTC’s action, Juul fought with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over whether it could sell e-cigarettes in the United States.
Altria’s MarkTen was at one point the second most popular e-cigarette maker, according to the FTC.
In May, Altria said that he will pay 235 million dollars to settle at least 6,000 lawsuits accusing him of fueling a teen vaping epidemic through his former investment in Juul.
Reporting by Diane Bartz and Kanishka Singh in Washington Editing by David Gregorio
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