On July 11, 2012, a federal appeals court upheld a decision by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that Polypore's acquisition of its main rival, Microporous Products, "was reasonably likely to substantially lessen competition" in three relevant markets and that only complete divestiture would restore competition in those markets. Both companies produce battery separators. Polypore had argued that the FTC erred by finding one market for the companies' deep-cycle battery separators and including Microporous's Austrian plant in the divestiture order. The court accepted the FTC's market definition, recognized its "broad discretion in the formulating of a remedy for unlawful practices," and concluded that the FTC "did not err."