CADE releases English version of its Guide for Horizontal Merger Review

The Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) released this Wednesday (10 March) an English version of its Guide for Horizontal Merger Review. The initiative aims at broadening access for the international antitrust community to documents that drive CADE's decisions.

Initially released in 2016, the guide illustrates the methodology used by CADE on assessing transactions that concern market players operating in the same production chain. The Guide aims at guiding public authorities to use best antitrust practices on the matter and assisting market players in understanding the steps, techniques and criterion adopted by CADE on its reviews.

The guide presents an overview of the performance of CADE concerning the assessment of horizontal mergers and the manner economic agents involved in the transactions may contribute to the promptness of cases. The content structure is as follows: review processes; sources of the information used in merger reviews; relevant market; level of concentration; unilateral effects; buyer power; coordinated effects; efficiency gains; supplementary and alternative analysis methods; insolvency process; and non-compete clause.

Besides, the guide comprises portfolio power analysis, potential competition, elimination of maverick firms and partial acquisitions, which represent significant innovations for reviewing mergers, in addition to further observe some issues related to entry barriers and rivalry. Furthermore, other subjects addressed are market shares and market balance; inputs sold to competitors; unilateral effects; market of homogeneous and differentiated products; buyer power; consumer welfare; coordinated effects; amongst others.

The English version of the Guide can be fully accessed here.