He Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) The Brazilian government is close to approving the purchase of 11 refrigerators by Minerva to Marfrig in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Chile for a total amount of 1.5 billion dollars.
After receiving the bad news from the Commission for the Promotion and Defense of Competition (Coprodec) Uruguayan in the face of its intentions to buy plants in the Uruguay, Minerva continues with another of its projects: the purchase of 11 establishments in four countries of South America.
According to CADE, and as confirmed by the Brazilian media O Globo, there is no possibility that consumers or suppliers could suffer concentration by Minerva. However, if the state entity decides otherwise, the business would fall apart completely.
The company intends to buy 11 refrigerators, located in Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Brazilthe amount for these is 7.5 billion reais (about 1.5 billion dollars). The operation was closed in August and at that time Minerva paid a total of 1.5 billion reais, so it still has to pay the following.
An unhappy ending in Uruguay
In mid-May, Coprodec officially rejected the purchase of Minerva to Marfrig for the purchase of three plants for about 130 million dollars, arguing that it could reach 43% of the market Uruguayan bullfight.
The 36-page Coprodec report detailed that Minerva and Marfrig each represent 26.5% of the market, while together with Pando Group and The Stones Refrigerator They account for 70% of the total industry.
The request was made “in a sector that has experienced increasing and recent concentration and that would take place between two groups that own multiple slaughterhouses cattle in Uruguay”, the MEF agency stated.
By listing the effects on the market for the purchase and sale of cattle destined for slaughter and the market for the purchase and sale of beef, He indicated that “companies could have the capacity to transfer the impact of greater sales capacity to the negotiations that take place in the livestock market.”
If the operation had been completed, Minerva would concentrate 43% of the market, said Defense of Competition and highlighted that it would reach 2,660 points in the Herfindahl-Hirschman index (HHI), which classifies a market as “highly concentrated” if it exceeds the 1,800 point threshold.
However, the company is not giving up and has sent a proposal to try to revive the purchase of the refrigerators. In this way, Minerva He proposed to the government to create “a single channel” to seek alternatives and acquire at least 1 or 2 of the plants.
Source: Ambito
