Regis Corporation : Hair Club, Bosley hair company settle FTC charges

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bosley Inc, which markets treatments for balding men, has settled charges that it gave sensitive business information about products and prices to a competitor with which it later decided to merge, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Monday.

The FTC said Bosley's chief executive officer traded information with the Hair Club CEO about new products, price floors for surgical hair transplants and planned expansions.

Bosley's corporate parent, Japan's Aderans Co Ltd (>> Aderans Co Ltd), said in July that it would buy Hair Club for Men and Women for $163.5 million.

The FTC said that the companies traded information with other, similar companies but did not name them.

Bosley, the largest company in the U.S. hair restoration segment, and the Hair Club had no immediate comment. Hair Club is owned by Regis Corporation (>> Regis Corporation), which also owns Supercuts and Sassoon Salon.

The settlement requires Bosley to no longer share sensitive information with competitors and to institute an antitrust compliance program.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

Stocks treated in this article : Aderans Co Ltd, Regis Corporation