According to the report, CADE imposed BRL 1.7bn (USD 326.4m) fines in conduct cases in 2023.
Brazil’s competition authority CADE has published its 2023 annual activities report, according to a Portuguese-language agency press release.
CADE received 594 merger filing submissions in 2023, the Portuguese-language item said. The agency issued rulings on 611 mergers in 2023, in an average of 21.5 days. Fast-track-mergers took an average of 12.6 days, one of the world’s shortest time frames.
CADE opened 63 conduct investigations in 2023, according to the release. CADE’s tribunal issued rulings on 17 anticompetitive conduct cases and approved 13 cease-and-desist agreements (TCCs), the release noted.
The main sectors in which mergers were notified were the markets for electricity generation, real estate development, retail, and hospital services, according to the report. The mergers filed with CADE in 2023 totaled a combined BRL 905bn.
CADE unconditionally approved 592 deals in 2023, approved five conditional on an agreement, and rejected two, according to the report. CADE declined to review eight deals, and four were pulled.
The report highlights key transactions in which the agency worked in 2023: DPA/Lactalis (dairy), Nestlé/Garoto (chocolate), Busco JV (transportation), Telefônica/Winity (telecommunications infrastructure), and Ultragaz/Supergasbras (natural gas distribution).
CADE signed two leniency agreements and conducted two search-and-seizure raids in 2023, the report said.
CADE imposed BRL 1.7bn (USD 326.4m) fines in conduct cases, up from USD 1.3bn (USD 249.6m) in the year prior, the report said. Financial contributions under cease-and-desist agreements totaled BRL 92.2m, down from BRL 724.2m in 2022.
