Cade approves purchase of 50% of Mitsubishi Fuso by Foxconn
The Cade Court (Administrative Council for Economic Defense) approved without restrictions, this Wednesday (1st), the acquisition of 50% of Mitsubishi by Lin Yin International Investments, a subsidiary of Foxconn.
The operation, aimed at forming a joint venture aimed at developing technologies for sustainable and zero-emission buses, was unanimously approved and authorized for immediate completion.
The 50% interest in the transaction currently belongs to Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation.
In the merits analysis, the case's rapporteur, counselor Carlos Jacques, concluded that the operation does not generate horizontal overlap or relevant vertical integration in Brazilian markets, removing competition concerns and dispensing with in-depth investigation.
The main debate of the trial, however, focused on the obligation to notify Cade of the operation.
The General Superintendence had expressed its lack of knowledge of the case, arguing that the target company did not record revenues exceeding R$75 million in Brazil and that the competitive effects of the operation in the country would be practically non-existent.
Jacques disagreed with this understanding and maintained that Law No. 12,529/2011 and Resolution No. 33/2022 determine that revenue criteria be measured based on the economic groups involved in the operation, and not just the acquired company.
According to the advisor, the legal limits were exceeded by both the purchasing group and the selling group, making it mandatory to submit the business for analysis by the local authority.
In his vote, the rapporteur stated that the verification of the criteria set out in the legislation must occur objectively, without room for discretion on the part of the antitrust authority, in the name of legal certainty.
Also, even from the perspective of territoriality, a requirement provided for in Brazilian competition legislation, the operation could have effects in the country, since the applicants informed the possibility of the target company operating in the Brazilian market in the next five years.
Source: CNN