CADE receives the first merger notification submitted to the e-Notifica system

The virtual tool allowed the Office of the Superintendent General to review a merger in record time, less than 24 hours. The merger was notified on 03 April 2024 and the result was issued on the following day. 

The transaction is an acquisition of around 96% of the shares of Petmate (Doskocil Manufacturing) by certain funds managed by Arbour Lane, Fortress Credit, Gamut Capital, and Silver Point. The petitioners were represented by Levy & Salomão Advogados, a Brazilian law firm. 

Since December, companies can submit summary merger cases to CADE through the e-Notifica system. The tool is linked to the Brazilian government and CADE’s databases, offering a more efficient and integrated User Experience (UX).

For Izabela Pannuzio, a lawyer involved in the merger reviewed, the new tool shows that the Brazilian authority is moving towards the modernisation of its systems. “As it happened during the Cade sem Papel release, in 2015—a project that aimed to digitalise proceedings in the antitrust authority—we know that the goal of the platform is to speed up the notification process and the merger reviews. Thus, we believe it is important to explore the new system and understand how it works, as well as to identify what needs to be improved,” she stated. 

One of the greatest advantages of the platform for CADE is that it is time-saving. While a summary case notified through the old system takes about 12 days to be reviewed, the merger submitted through the e-Notifica system was approved in less than 24 hours, Mrs Pannuzio celebrates. “We knew the platform would help us reduce the duration of reviews, but the approval in less than 24 hours was a wonderful surprise. If this amount of time becomes the new parameter for summary cases, the platform is going to be welcomed by the companies that have to notify transactions to CADE,” she mentioned. 

According to Felipe Mundim, assistant superintendent at CADE, the time record in the review should not only be attributed to the e-Notifica system, but also to the specific nature of the transaction, the attention, and the care of the lawyers while filling out the form also contributed to such fast review. Mr Mundim highlights that the system increased the level of security of the information provided to the authority. “After the implementation, we reduced the exposure of the case to different sectors of CADE during the review process. Naturally, we admit that there is room for improvement, like any other new system implemented. However, it is no different from other projects at CADE, where we adopt a method of continuous improvement,” he stated.

Given the positive experience in the case reviewed, the Office of the Superintendent General believes that the platform will contribute significantly to the business environment in the country, reducing the transaction costs in mergers that do not raise any competition concerns.

The decision of the Office of the Superintendent General of CADE is regarded final and the deal 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.

The e-Notifica platform is available in Portuguese on CADE’s website. External users can explore the features of the platform clicking on the button “item Usuário Externo do SEI”. A newer, faster, and simpler process is the beginning of a new era in the notification of mergers at CADE.