FTC antitrust chief leaving for law firm

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The antitrust chief at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is leaving after a 2-1/2 year period that saw the agency open a formal investigation into Intel Corp (INTC.O) and try to stop the merger of two organic grocery chains.

Jeffrey Schmidt, the director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition, is joining law firm Linklaters LLP in New York as an antitrust partner, it was announced on Thursday.

David Wales has been named acting director of the bureau, said a statement by the FTC, which shares antitrust enforcement with the U.S. Justice Department. Wales has been serving as a deputy director.

Schmidt, in a statement issued by Linklaters, said it was "the right time for me to return to private practice."

His departure comes ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November. It is not unusual for senior federal officials to leave the government as the end of a president's term nears.

The competition director at the FTC can help shape the agency's antitrust agenda and the quality of its analysis, but final decisions are made by a vote of the FTC's commissioners.

Schmidt directed FTC efforts to try to block Whole Foods Market Inc's (WFMI.O) $565 million purchase of organic grocery rival Wild Oats Markets Inc on grounds that it would raise prices to consumers.

Although the merger went ahead last year when the courts declined to intervene, the FTC won a victory for its authority when an appeals court said last month that a lower court had erred in turning down the FTC's request for an injunction.

The FTC did manage during Schmidt's time to block the $970 million combination of Equitable Resources Inc (EQT.N) and two of Dominion Resources Inc's (D.N) gas companies. The companies said in January they were canceling their deal.

In June, giant semiconductor producer Intel said it faced a formal investigation by the FTC, adding to similar probes in Europe and Asia over whether it had abused its market dominance.

Other merger deals went ahead after companies agreed to divest assets to preserve competition.

Allergan Inc (AGN.N) purchased Inamed Corp in 2006 in a $3.2 billion deal after the companies agreed to divest the rights to a wrinkle treatment that could compete with Allergan's Botox.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine and Tim Dobbyn, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)