Brazil’s anti-trust authority Cade will revise Usiminas’ acquisition by Ternium, according to media reports. Three years after the deal was completed and approved the local authority, Cade decided to revise the terms of the acquisition to check if all information was accurate.
Ternium Techint acquired a 27.7 percent stake at the Brazilian steelmaker for BRL 5.1 billion ($1.9 billion). Cade’s decision to revise the transaction followed a request by Brazil’s Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN), which said there are “strong doubts that both companies omitted from local authorities the real shape of the deal.”
In a statement, CSN said Ternium described the acquisition as a mere change of shareholders when, in fact, it took total control over Usiminas. CSN further alleged that Ternium hid important information to Cade in the new shareholder agreement, which is valid until 2031. One of the hidden points include Ternium’s power to interpose “competitively relevant” issues.