June 23, 2011

Brasil Foods prepared to sell brands, plants for Sadia SA
 

In addition to sharing its distribution network with competitors, Brasil Foods SA is also prepared to sell brands and plants in order to gain consent from antitrust regulators for the acquisition of Sadia SA, a person familiar with the talks said.

The world's largest poultry exporter plans to present a new proposal to Brazil's antitrust agency, known as Cade, next week, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the negotiations are private. The company has no plans to include the divestiture of top-selling brands Sadia and Perdigao in the proposal, he said.

The company was created two years ago after Perdigao SA bought Sadia in a US$3.8 billion deal supported by state-company pension funds. Carlos Ragazzo, one of the five commissioners voting on the case, recommended on June 8 that the antitrust agency block the merger, saying the combined company wielded too much market share in processed foods and would hurt consumers.

Brasil Foods rose for a seventh day on Tuesday (Jun 21), gaining 0.1% to BRL25.93 (US$16.33) in Sao Paulo trading.