Company lawyers are preparing appeal to seek authorization for the acquisition of three slaughterhouses from Marfrig in the country.
The lawyers of meat processor Minerva are preparing an appeal to be submitted to Uruguayan authorities trying to reverse a decision by the country’s antitrust regulator rejecting the acquisition of three slaughterhouses from Marfrig in the country. After the appeal is filed, which should take place by May 31, it will undergo scrutiny by the local government.
The appeal will be submitted to COPRODEC [Uruguay’s antitrust regulator] and to the country’s Ministry of Economy, a source close to the negotiations told Valor.
Minerva has not yet defined whether it will change the initial request for the acquisition of Marfrig’s assets located in Colonia, Salto, and San José, and what the possible changes could be. “Minerva is currently trying to understand the reasons that led to the COPRODEC’s decision,” the person added.
Sources consulted by Valor also consider the possibility of the antitrust watchdog placing some requirements for the deal to be approved. The companies continue to expect Uruguay to authorize the conclusion of the deal.
In the agreement announced in August 2023, Marfrig agreed to sell, for R$7.5 billion, 16 of its plants in South America to Minerva, which has already paid R$1.5 billion for the assets. The three units located in Uruguay are valued at R$675 million.
On Thursday (23), the shares of the two companies on the Brazilian stock exchange B3 recovered part of the losses suffered one day earlier, when the shares plummeted due to the developments in Uruguay. Minerva shares went up 1.1%, and Marfrig shares rose 1.37%. Although the veto by Uruguay was not a surprise to the market, the impact of the decision among investors was negative.
The sale of the plants in Uruguay does not change the ongoing analysis by the responsible bodies in the other countries involved—Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. In Brazil, the negotiation of 11 plants remains under evaluation. Last month, the General Superintendence of the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) said that the operation is “complex,” which means the deadlines for the analysis by the antitrust regulator are longer and a result may not be released until the end of the year.
Source: Valor International
