On 29 December 2008, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it was challenging King Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s (King) proposed US$1.6 billion acquisition of Alpharma Inc. (Alpharma). The FTC also announced that it had accepted a proposed consent order settling its charges, under which King must divest the rights to Kadian, Alpharma's branded oral long-acting opioid (LAO) analgesic drug, to Actavis Group (Actavis) or an alternative Commission-approved acquirer. According to the FTC, the divestiture will restore competition between Alpharma's Kadian and King's oral LAO, Avinza, that would have been lost as a result of the acquisition.