CADE approves firms’ investment agreement to acquire stake in Carguero and Green Net

On 23 February, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) approved an investment agreement between the companies Louis Dreyfus Company Brasil (LDC), Amaggi Exportação e Importação, Sartco, Cargill Agrícola, and Dalablog Participações. The purpose of the agreement is the acquisition of shares in the firms Carguero Inovação Logística e Serviços and Green Net Administradora de Cartão.  The CADE Tribunal unconditionally cleared the transaction.

The firms LDC, Amaggi, Sartco, and Cargill operate in the markets of origination of grains and other agricultural products and sale of commodities. Carguero is a joint venture held by LDC and Amaggi – each of them holding 50% of the shares – that intermediates road freight through a digital platform. Green Net is a company mostly owned by Dalablog that provides electronic payment services related to road freight and tolls.

With the investment agreement, the original shareholders (LDC and Amaggi) along with new holders (Sartco, Cargill and Dalablog) will hold Carguero. Finally, Carguero will own the entirety of Green Net's membership interest. According to the companies, the transaction is an opportunity to strengthen Carguero's operations and further invest in technology and the development of tools. Furthermore, the deal can allow for the expansion of Green Net’s services to all industries that use road cargo transport services in Brazil.

In December 2021, the Office of the Superintendent General of CADE cleared the transaction unconditionally. A few days after the decision, a confederation of self-employed truck driver unions (CNTA), which was an interested third party, appealed the decision. Thus, the case was submitted to the CADE Tribunal, and commissioner Sérgio Ravagnani was assigned its rapporteur.

In his vote, the rapporteur concluded the transaction does not result in anticompetitive effects. "Considering the contractual clauses, we can determine the commitments and means suggested by the applicants are sufficient to mitigate the competition risks of exercising coordinated market power and sharing competitively sensitive information", said Mr Ravagnani.

The Tribunal of CADE followed the rapporteur's position, which dismissed the third-party appeal and maintained the Office of the Superintendent General's opinion to clear the case unconditionally.

Access Case no. 08700.003130/2021-51.