Brasília, 12 June 2025
Brazil’s competition authority, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE), has officially determined that Copagril Agroindustrial Cooperative and Paraná Supermercados violated merger control rules by completing a transaction before receiving regulatory approval—a practice known as gun jumping.
The decision was issued unanimously during CADE’s 249th Ordinary Judgment Session, held on 11 June 2025.
The investigation, launched under the Administrative Procedure for the Investigation of a Merger (APAC), focused on a December 2023 asset acquisition involving the transfer of a supermarket location in Cianorte, Paraná, from Paraná Supermercados to Copagril.
According to the case rapporteur, Commissioner Camila Alves, the parties finalized the deal—including the immediate and full transfer of the commercial property and related supermarket infrastructure—before submitting the transaction to CADE, in violation of Brazil’s competition law.
“This constitutes a clear case of gun jumping,” Alves stated, recommending that the companies be formally notified within 30 days of the judgment’s publication in the Diário Oficial da União (Brazil’s federal register).
CADE’s tribunal unanimously supported the rapporteur’s findings.
The case is formally registered as Administrative Procedure No. 08700.003124/2024-47.
Under Brazilian law, all mergers or acquisitions that meet specific revenue thresholds must be pre-notified and approved by CADE before closing. Failure to do so may result in fines and potential annulment of the transaction.
The ruling highlights CADE’s ongoing efforts to enforce procedural compliance in merger control and sends a clear signal to businesses that early consummation of deals will not be tolerated.
