Adds details throughout; statement from Welsh Carson

By Mike Scarcella and Brendan O'Brien

WASHINGTON, Jan 17 (Reuters) - The Federal Trade Commission on Friday said it has reached a settlement with Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe and its affiliates in a case that accused the private equity firm of suppressing competition for anesthesiology services in Texas.

The FTC accused New York-based Welsh Carson of using portfolio company U.S. Anesthesia Partners to acquire anesthesia practices around Texas to form a dominant entity that could command higher prices.

The complaint mirrors a lawsuit the agency filed last year in federal court against Welsh Carson and U.S. Anesthesia Partners. A judge dismissed the case against Welsh Carson last May.

Welsh Carson denied wrongdoing, and in a statement on Friday criticized what it described as an 11th-hour effort by the FTC to relitigate the earlier claims and force a settlement before Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s second term.

The firm said the settlement would not impact its business. “This allows us to put a politically motivated matter behind us and avoid additional expense and distraction,” it said.

The FTC declined to comment. The commission voted unanimously 5-0 to accept the settlement.

U.S. Anesthesia Partners was not a party to the settlement and declined to comment. It has denied violating antitrust law.

FTC Chair Lina Khan in a statement assailed private equity acquisition strategies that she said “can eliminate meaningful competition and allow new owners to jack up prices, degrade quality, and neutralize rivals without competitive checks.”

Republican FTC Commissioner Andrew Ferguson, Trump’s nominee to lead the agency, in a separate statement called the case "an ordinary application of the most elementary antitrust principles.”

Under the settlement terms, Welsh Carson said it would limit its involvement with U.S. Anesthesia Partners, reduce its board representation to a single seat and obtain FTC approval for any future investment in anesthesia practices.

(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien and Mike Scarcella; editing by David Bario, Susan Heavey and Leslie Adler)

((sheavey@thomsonreuters.com; +1-202-898-8300;))