The Commission for the Promotion and Defense of Competition (Coprodec) of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) decided to extend the deadline for presenting considerations from the parties involved as well as third parties in relation to the purchase operation of the three refrigerators that Marfrig It has in Uruguay for de side of the company Minerva Foods.
The initial date for the deadline was March 14, however, Coprodec decided to extend it until March 19 with the aim of continuing to deepen the evaluation, for which it also required “additional information from the parties and third parties.”
In mid-February, the MEF organization announced the transition to Stage II of concentration in the Minerva-Marfrig operation, in the process that began last November 1. With this news, “interested third parties” will be able to “formulate the allegations they consider relevant, regarding possible changes or impacts on the conditions of competition in the markets that they understand may be affected,” according to the official notification from the agency.
It is worth remembering that the operation consists of the acquisition by Minerva 100% of the shares of Establishments Colonia SA, Inaler SA and Prescott International SA, in addition to other assets.
At this stage, interested third parties can “formulate the allegations they consider appropriate, regarding possible changes or impacts on the conditions of competition in the markets that they understand may be affected,” the agency stated.
The operation aroused criticism from various sectors
The operation generated controversy from the beginning and both political leaders and businessmen in the sector spoke out against it, considering that there may be concentration, since Minerva would accumulate 45% of the Uruguayan work.
In recent days, the president of the National Meat Institute (INAC), Conrado Ferber, who, although he chose “not to make public the fears or objections,” noted: “We have technical support that is sufficient for us, but obviously there are also technical reasons to allow the merger. There are a number of pros and cons, but the cons far outweigh the pros.”
For Ferber, The acquisition “does not contribute to a market that in our country is quite clear and balanced, it is not perfect, but we understand that this would be absolutely distorting” and he stated “it is a risk in the main business of the country.”
Source: Ambito
