Antitrust Merger-Review Rule Changes

On December 1, 2010, the Federal Senate approved Bill of Law No. 06/09 (initiated in the House of Deputies as Bill of Law No. 3,937/04), which aims to amend Law No. 8,884/94 that regulates the Protection of the Brazilian Antitrust System.

One of the main changes introduced by such Bill of Law concerns the raising of the gross turnover threshold triggering submission of a given transaction to the Brazilian antitrust authorities. Pursuant to the current criteria, in the event that one of the groups involved in a transaction subject to merger review (including mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures) has registered gross turnover in Brazil of at least R$400 million in the last financial year, such transaction must be notified to the Brazilian antitrust authorities.