O’Melveny’s Reysen Authors Article in Competition Law Insight on Implications of Brazil’s New Merger Notification Regime

O’Melveny & Myers LLP partner Marc Reysen authored the article “Brazilian Mergers,” in the June 12, 2012, issue of Competition Law Insight reviewing Brazil’s newly established regime, CADE (in Portuguese, Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica), that will be responsible for the enforcement of competition rules, providing an administrative one-stop shop for companies that face enforcement action. Merger control will be significantly affected, with the new system introducing a suspensory premerger notification system. Under this, Brazil joins other jurisdictions, which mandate clearance prior to closing the transaction. Reyson wrote, “These changes – institutional reorganisation and the move to a system of preclosing review – must impact on the way the review process is handled, in particular the way in which transactions are notified to the authority.” The article continues to review the benefits and drawbacks of the main provisions introduced by CADE.

Reyson concluded, “If CADE really wishes to identify transactions that raise potential competition concerns, one wonders whether it might not be more efficient to call a few customers of the merging parties than insist on copious amounts of market data and documents. CADE may yet consider refining the concept introduced by the Resolution in the future.”

Reyson is a member of O’Melveny’s European Antitrust and Competition Practice and resides in the Firm’s Brussels office.

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