Attorney General Bonta Secures Complete Victory in PlayPower/Burke Case, Parties Abandon Merger

Merger was expected to lead to higher prices, lower quality in the commercial outdoor playground equipment market

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a statement after PlayPower, Inc. (PlayPower) and BCI Burke Company, LLC (Burke), two of the top five largest national suppliers of commercial outdoor playground equipment, abandoned their proposed merger. A week ago, Attorney General Bonta, as part of a bipartisan coalition of 12 states and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), filed a lawsuit alleging the proposed merger of PlayPower and Burke was illegal, would result in less competition in the market for commercial outdoor playground equipment both nationwide and in California, and could lead to higher prices and lower quality.

“As the fourth largest economy in the world, California has an outsized responsibility in ensuring business practices are fair and competitive — and today, we’ve delivered. Corporate consolidation means big profits for corporations taken out of the pockets of Californians. The end of the proposed PlayPower/Burke merger is a remarkable victory for taxpayers, our schools, local parks and recreation departments, and our kids,” said Attorney General Bonta. “I am proud of the work my office has done in collaboration with the Federal Trade Commission, and I remain steadfast in my commitment to economic justice and protecting an economy where both businesses and families can thrive.”

BACKGROUND

The market for commercial outdoor playground equipment is already highly concentrated, with five main competitors accounting for approximately 85% to 90% of the sales in the U.S. This proposed merger of PlayPower and Burke would have combined two of the top five largest suppliers. With less competition, businesses face less pressure to keep prices competitive and can charge higher prices without improving the quality of goods and without the risk of losing customers to competitors. Purchases of commercial outdoor playground equipment are mostly funded through government and taxpayer dollars, largely by schools and parks and recreation departments, meaning most of the cost of price increases, including those due to reduced competition, would have fallen squarely on the public. In the lawsuit filed last week, the coalition argued that the merger would have substantially lessened competition in market for commercial outdoor playground equipment, in violation of Section 7 of the federal Clayton Act. 

ANTITRUST ENFORCEMENT AND AFFORDABILITY

As many California families are experiencing the burden of the affordability crisis, Attorney General Bonta remains committed to going after anticompetitive behavior driving up costs. In the entertainment and media industries, Attorney General Bonta recently announced a settlement with Paramount in the Warner Bros./Paramount litigation that protects the livelihoods of Hollywood workers and guarantees massive investments in domestic film production and secured a victory in the ongoing Nexstar/Tegna litigation. This past year, he also tackled other anticompetitive conduct by securing an end to Agri Stats’ price coordination scheme that drove meat prices up for consumers, exposed Amazon’s illegal price fixing scheme, and secured a settlement that delivered 8.9 million eggs to California food banks.

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