“Altria Group Inc. pulled out of the e-cigarette market in the fall of 2018 because of a secret deal with rival Juul Labs Inc. — not because of the public-health concerns it cited publicly at the time, according to antitrust officials. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission revealed the agreement between the two companies in an antitrust complaint made public Friday. Juul’s “executives made clear their position that Altria could not remain a competitor in the relevant market if there was to be a deal,” according to the complaint. During negotiations, Juul insisted, “and Altria recognized, that Altria’s exit from the e-cigarette market was a non-negotiable condition for any deal.””
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Altria quit e-cigarette market in secret deal with Juul, antitrust officials say
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