Dividing territories

Competition law
Basic concepts
History of competition law Monopoly Coercive monopoly Natural monopoly Barriers to entry Herfindahl–Hirschman Index Market concentration Market power SSNIP test Relevant market Merger control
Anti-competitive practices
Monopolization Collusion Formation of cartels Price fixing Bid rigging Product bundling and tying Refusal to deal Group boycott Essential facilities Exclusive dealing Dividing territories Conscious parallelism Predatory pricing Misuse of patents and copyrights
Enforcement authorities and organizations
International Competition Network List of competition regulators

Dividing territories (also market division) is an agreement by two companies to stay out of each other's way and reduce competition in the agreed-upon territories. It is one of several anti-competitive practices outlawed in the United States. The term is generally understood to include dividing customers as well.

For example, in 1984 FMC Corp. and Asahi Chemical agreed to divide territories for the sale of microcrystalline cellulose, and later FMC attempted to eliminate all vestiges of competition by inviting smaller rivals also to collude.

See also

• Regional lockout