Playground equipment makers call off merger after Illinois, 11 other states sue to block it

Two of the country's largest commercial outdoor playground equipment makers have called off a planned merger after Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and 11 other state attorneys general sued to stop it.

The Federal Trade Commission and the bipartisan group of attorneys general announced that PlayPower has abandoned its planned acquisition of BCI Burke. The announcement came a week after the lawsuit was filed.

The coalition claimed the merger would have created a monopoly, leading to higher prices, lower quality and service, and less innovation for schools, churches, and parks and recreation departments that buy playground equipment.

The market is already tight, and competition between PlayPower and Burke benefits customers through lower prices and better services, Raoul's office said. PlayPower, Burke and three other companies own more than a dozen playground equipment brands and control up to 90% of the U.S. market, the office said.

Raoul said in a news release that his office's Antitrust Bureau helped stop the merger, and that the lawsuit identified concerns including significantly higher prices for schools and park districts in Illinois and across the country, "despite an already over-priced market."

"I will continue to push back on similar illegal mergers," Raoul said.

The lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of California. With the merger called off, the attorneys general have moved to have the lawsuit dismissed.