Santiago, January 15, 2026 — Chile’s Tribunal for the Defence of Free Competition (TDLC) has approved two extrajudicial agreements signed by the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office (FNE) and two companies, as part of an investigation into the possible submission of false information during a merger notification.
The agreements involve CJ Cheiljedang Corporation (CJ) and Bunge Alimentos S.A. (Bunge). The matter relates to a transaction that was approved by the FNE in Phase II in August 2024, allowing Bunge to acquire exclusive control of CJ Latam Participações Ltda. and CJ Selecta S.A., with effects in Chile’s market for the commercialization of soy protein concentrate.
According to the FNE, the investigation was opened ex officio by its Compliance Division in December 2024, based on information gathered during the review of the underlying concentration. In a public hearing held on January 12, National Economic Prosecutor Jorge Grunberg said the agreements are designed to protect the effectiveness of merger control “from its origin,” emphasizing that Chile’s system depends on parties complying with a legal duty to provide the authority with “reliable, complete and timely” information.
Under the approved agreements, CJ and Bunge will pay a total of $1.2 million to the Chilean treasury, split equally between the two companies. In addition, Bunge must carry out competition law training under Chilean legislation, including prevention of violations of Article 3 bis (e) of Decree Law 211, which sanctions the submission of false information in merger notifications.
In its decisions approving the agreements, the TDLC said the obligations undertaken by CJ and Bunge were relevant and sufficient in relation to the facts identified by the FNE and acknowledged by the companies, and that there were no indications that the settlements could create risks for competition.
Grunberg welcomed the TDLC’s approval, saying the FNE will continue safeguarding compliance with Chile’s merger review framework to preserve its “transparent, collaborative and efficient” nature since it entered into operation in June 2017.
The FNE noted it has actively enforced the duty of truthful merger notifications, citing previous actions involving Disney (2020) and Oxxo (2022).
