CADE clears sale of 33.3% of Pool of Marabá to Ipiranga

The Office of the Superintendent General of CADE (SG/CADE) cleared Ipiranga's acquisition of 33.3% of goods, assets, and operational capacity of the Pool of Marabá, currently held by Vibra Energia and Sabbá.

Located in the Marabá municipality, in the state of Pará, the Pool of Marabá is a shared pool that aims to receive, store, and dispatch petroleum-derived goods and biofuels. Currently, Vibra and Sabbá operate the pool together.

Vibra Energia is a public corporation that operates mainly in the energy sector and in the sales and distribution of fuels, lubricants, and other petrochemicals across Brazil. In turn, Sabbá is a closed corporation, under Raízen's management, developing activities of fuel distribution in the states of Mato Grosso and Tocatins, and in the Northern region of Brazil. Finally, Ipiranga is a closed corporation, under the management of Ultrapar and part of Grupo Ultra. Through its subsidiary AM/PM, the company explores commercial activities through franchises.

To substantiate the transaction, the companies explain that the business is in line with Ipiranga's regional expansion plans. For Vibra and Sabbá, the transaction is an opportunity for good business and costs optimisation.

The merger may result in a horizontal overlap in the fuel storage of the state of Pará. However, the SG observed that the business is a result of the market reducing the concentration ratio regarding the storage capacities of Vibra Energia and Sabbá. The competition authority also reinforced the companies' agreement to maintain specific competitive practices that are best for this pool.

After the review, the SG concluded that there are still some instruments blocking the exchange of competitively sensitive information among the companies involved. In addition, the SG unconditionally cleared the transaction since it will not harm the competitive environment.

The decisions of the Office of the Superintendent General are final and the deals fully approved if the authority's Tribunal does not request the case for adjudication or a third party does not appeal to the ruling within 15 days of its announcement. 

Access Case no. 08700.006395/2023-73.