The Federal Trade Commission and the US Department of Justice Antitrust Division have filed a joint Statement of Interest in support of a multistate antitrust lawsuit against BlackRock (BLK), State Street (STT), and Vanguard, the agencies said Thursday.

The lawsuit claims the three asset managers "engaged in an anticompetitive conspiracy to drive down coal production as part of an industry-wide 'Net Zero' initiative to further anti-coal Environmental, Social, and Governance goals," the agencies said. The suit alleges this, along with certain other actions by the companies, reduced supply, increased coal prices, and forced US consumers to pay more for energy, they added.

The FTC and DOJ have submitted their statement to the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, arguing that the asset managers misapplied antitrust law in their defense, the agencies said.

BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard didn't immediately reply to MT Newswires' request for comments.

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