Tyson Foods’ buyout of I-B-P has gotten the federal okay. The Justice Department sees no potential negative impact on competition. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley calls it bad news. He hopes the Justice Department has done a thorough investigation of the transaction to make their determination. Grassley foresees problems with this and other big-business deals and says agricultural mergers deserve added attention. Grassley says he’ll continue pushing for changes in anti-trust laws.The Tyson/I-B-P deal would merge the nation’s largest chicken producer with the largest beef and the number-two pork processor. Agriculture mergers aren’t the only thing Senator Grassley is worried about. He will meet tomorrow with Don Carty, the C-E-O of American Airlines, which is trying to buy T-W-A. Grassley has a variety of concerns over the proposed merger.T-W-A filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this month as part of the arrangement for American to buy the airline for 500-million dollars in cash and the assumption of three-and-a-half billion in debt.
