General Superintendence concludes opinion on Holcim/Lafarge transaction

The General Superintendence of the Administrative Council for Economic Defense – CADE issued an opinion on the Official Gazette of 17 November 2014 recommending to the Tribunal the approval of the merger of Holcim Ltd and Lafarge S.A (Merger file no. 08700.007621/2014-42), conditioned to the signature of a Merger Control Agreement (ACC for its acronym in Portuguese).

The global scope transaction, notified in September 2014, would result in concentration in the cement and concrete markets in some Brazilian locations. To address possible competition concerns, the companies, at the moment of the notification, proposed to the agency the signature of a Merger Control Agreement. In the agreement, they compromise to divest a package of assets that include cement and concrete production units in the states of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais, in order to eliminate the concentration between the parties.

The Superintendence’s opinion recommended the approval of the agreement, which will be analyzed by CADE’s Tribunal, responsible for the final decision.