The Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade) approved, in the judgment session this Wednesday (04/14), the acquisition of all the share capital of Hub Prepaid and subsidiaries (Hub Companies) by Magalu Payments. The Court endorsed the operation, in short, without restrictions.
Magalu Payments is an institution controlled by Magazine Luiza and operates in the means of payment segment exclusively for the same group to which the company belongs, the Magalu Group. Hub, in turn, is a holding company that owns the entire share capital of Hub Payments. Hub Companies provide digital account and prepaid card services directly to their customers.
According to the companies, the operation will promote the improvement of Magalu Payments' service offer to its customers, who will be able to take advantage of a free financial products and services platform and fully integrated with the Magalu application. With that, customers will be able to use a digital account to make purchases, deposits, transfers, payments, withdrawals and services such as cell phone recharges and transportation vouchers, in addition to having the option of a prepaid card that will reflect the balance of the digital account, also allowing transactions in the physical world.
In March of this year, CADE's General
Superintendence approved the operation without restrictions and, days
later, Mercado Pago, the third party interested in the merger, filed an
appeal against the decision. The case, then, was brought to the
attention of the Court of the Council, under the report of the
counsellor Paula Azevedo.
In her vote, the counsellor concluded that
the transaction does not generate anti-competitive effects, does not
create or reinforce a dominant position, does not increase barriers to
entry or implies a reduction of rivalry, and does not increase the
possibility or probability of closing the market. "There are, therefore,
from a competitive point of view, no solid foundations capable of
obstructing the present merger", she concluded.
The understanding
was followed by CADE's Administrative Court, which dismissed the appeal
and maintained CADE's decision to approve the operation without
restrictions.
