CADE extended the period for merger review of a transaction involving Seara and Bunge

In the hearing of this Wednesday (4 November), the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) has approved a decision to extend for a 90 days term the review of the acquisition by Seara of the mayonnaise and margarine businesses of Bunge. Bunge intends to sell its productive capacity (factories), product brands and other assets to Seara through the transaction.

The transaction was reported in March 2020 and got the approval of the General Superintendence (SG/CADE) in August. In that same month, the Tribunal approved a request to review the case submitted by the commissioner Luis Henrique Bertolino Braido.

The commissioner Sérgio Ravagnani was appointed rapporteur of the case. Ravagnani has requested the additional term to review the case, foreseen by the Brazilian Competition Law, due to the high amount of information in the case files, among which expressions and documents gathered during the discovery phase held by the SG/CADE, economic opinions and market studies.

The Competition Law defines that CADE has up to 240 days to conclude merger and acquisition reviews. However, the term can be extended for additional 90 days, upon a substantiated decision of the agency's Tribunal.

Therefore, with the additional term, the Tribunal of CADE has until February 2021 to review the case.