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A highly anticipated lawsuit aiming to block Tempur Sealy’s $4.3 billion acquisition of retail giant Mattress Firm is set to showcase a clash between seasoned antitrust defense attorneys and a U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) team led by a former Latham & Watkins lawyer who joined the agency earlier this year.

Tempur Sealy (TPX.N), the renowned bed manufacturer, has enlisted the services of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, with partner Bruce Hoffman at the helm. Meanwhile, Mattress Firm is represented by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, with Sara Razi, co-leader of the firm’s antitrust and trade regulation group, among the key legal figures involved, according to court documents.

The FTC filed a lawsuit in federal court in Houston on Tuesday to halt the Tempur Sealy merger, arguing that it could lead to job losses for manufacturing workers and result in higher prices for consumers. Allyson Maltas, who left Latham in January to take up a senior trial counsel position at the FTC, is leading the agency’s case.

Neither Maltas, Hoffman, nor Razi have commented on the lawsuit at this time.

This lawsuit is particularly noteworthy as it represents a rare litigated challenge to a “vertical” merger. Vertical mergers involve companies that operate at different stages of the supply chain rather than direct competitors, making them more challenging for antitrust enforcers to contest in court.

Henry Liu, the FTC’s competition bureau director, stated on Tuesday that Tempur Sealy’s objective was “to kneecap competitors and dominate the market.”

In response, Tempur Sealy, headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky, issued a statement emphasizing that the bedding industry is highly competitive and that Mattress Firm constitutes only a small portion of the retail market.

Bruce Hoffman of Cleary Gottlieb previously served as the FTC competition bureau director from 2017 to 2019, overseeing antitrust enforcement during his tenure. Notably, in 2012, Hoffman was counsel to Universal Music Group in its $1.9 billion acquisition of EMI Music’s recorded music business.

Sara Razi, from Simpson Thacher, was part of the legal team that successfully defended Change Healthcare in a 2022 Justice Department antitrust lawsuit challenging UnitedHealth’s acquisition of the company as unlawful.

Allyson Maltas, prior to joining the FTC, was part of the Latham team that defended American Airlines in a Justice Department antitrust action in Massachusetts.

Tempur Sealy expressed confidence in its ability to resolve the litigation successfully and anticipated completing the merger later this year or in early 2025.

The case is Federal Trade Commission v. Tempur Sealy International Inc. et al, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, No. 4:24-cv-02508.