Altria Group has asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to drop its challenge of Altria’s acquisition of 35 per cent of Juul Labs Inc after it exited the stake last week, reports Reuters.

In 2020, the FTC had claimed that Altria’s USD 12.8 billion investment in Juul Labs Inc violated antitrust law due to the company acquiring the position instead of competing against Juul in the market for closed-system e-cigarettes, reports Reuters.
Altria has already terminated a non-compete agreement with Juul and has now exited its investment with both companies claiming the matter is “moot”.
“There is nothing left of the transaction to be challenged. Altria and JLI respectfully ask the Commission to dismiss this matter as moot,” the companies said in a filing to the FTC.
After an FTC administrative law judge ruled for the companies in February 2022, the next step would have been for the full commission to decide whether to accept that decision and dismiss the FTC case, according to Reuters.