Brazil: Watchdog blocks JBJ-Mataboi deal

Brazil’s antitrust watchdog Cade on Wednesday, October 18, unanimously voted to block the purchase of meatpacker Mataboi Alimentos SA by JBJ Agropecuária, a further blow to the billionaire Batista family.

JBJ is owned by José Batista Jr., whose brothers control the world’s largest meatpacker, JBS SA , through holding company J&F Investimentos.

Batista Jr.’s family ties would allow JBJ to exchange valuable information with JBS and coordinate strategic decisions to stifle competition, the board of Cade argued.

The analysis aligns with Cade’s general-superintendency, which in September warned of coordination risks despite the lack of formal ties between both JBS and Mataboi, Brazil’s No. 4 meatpacker.

Batista Jr. sold his shares in J&F to his brothers Joesley and Wesley in 2013. Two years later, JBJ agreed to purchase the entirety of Fratelli Dorazio Investimentos, as the owner of Mataboi was then known, for an undisclosed value.

Full Content: Jornal do Comércio

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