Brasília, April 9, 2025 – Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) has imposed a significant fine on automotive companies Renauto Veículos e Peças Ltda and Navesa Nacional de Veículos Ltda for completing a merger without prior approval from the authority, a practice known as gun jumping.
The transaction in question, which occurred in March 2015, involved the sale of tangible and intangible assets from Renauto to Navesa as part of a Renault dealership operation in Goiânia, Brazil. The deal included parts, tools, machinery, and facilities related to the operation.
CADE’s General Superintendence (SG Cade) launched an investigation in 2020, finding that the merger should have been notified to the regulatory body before completion. Although the case was initially reviewed in August 2023, it was determined that the transaction had not been properly notified, violating the requirements. The companies only submitted the necessary notification in November 2024, over a year after the ruling, and the form was not completed until February 2025.
As a result, the companies were fined R$5,360,560, which is approximately $1.04 million USD, based on today’s exchange rate. The ruling was unanimously supported by the CADE Court.
For further details, the Administrative Procedure for Determining Concentration Act can be accessed via the case number 08700.000974/2020-60.
