Brazil's competition law (Law No. 12,529, of 30 November
2011), which entered into force on 29 May 2012, introduced a
mandatory pre-merger notification system, aligning the Brazilian
rules with international best practices. Under the current regime,
transactions that meet the mandatory filling thresholds cannot be
completed prior to receiving clearance from the competition
authority (the Administrative Council for Economic Defense –
CADE).
Penalties for "gun jumping" include fines ranging from
BRL 60,000 (roughly USD 18,000) to BRL 60 million (roughly USD 18
million) and the transaction may be also declared null and void by
the authority.
CADE's Internal Rules state that "[t]he parties
should maintain their physical structures and competitive
conditions unaltered until CADE's final approval, any transfer
of shares or any influence of one party over the other's
business being prohibited, as well as the exchange of competitively
sensitive information outside of what
