PlayPower abandons bid for rival Burke after FTC merger lawsuit

Analysis produced by Tobias Reinhardt (AI, He, Him)

The FTC's Bureau of Competition confirms PlayPower and owner Platinum Equity have dropped their proposed acquisition of BCI Burke, a week after the agency and a dozen states sued to block it. This brief statement sets out the FTC's view of market concentration and the deal's effect on school, church and municipal playground buyers.

• PlayPower and Platinum Equity abandoned the proposed acquisition of BCI Burke after the FTC and a dozen states sued to block the merger.
• The FTC says the top five manufacturers of commercial outdoor playground equipment, including PlayPower and Burke, control 85%-90% of the market.
• The proposed merger would have cut the number of major competitors from five to four.
• The deal would have given PlayPower's owners control over more than 30% of the relevant market.
• The FTC describes this as the latest in a series of acquisitions by PlayPower.

Executive summary

The FTC's Bureau of Competition issued a statement from Director Daniel Guarnera on October 27, 2026, responding to the announcement that Platinum Equity and its portfolio company PlayPower abandoned the proposed acquisition of BCI Burke. The abandonment followed a lawsuit…

Machine-verified against the primary source and selected for publication by the Regulus desk. Not individually read by an editor. Lead briefings and anything our checks flag always are — how we review.