The Brazilian Competition Authority requires divestiture of US leading supplier of soft drinks’ acquisition of Brazil’s iced tea producer (Coca-Cola, Leão Junior)

Brazil's competition authority - Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica (the Administrative Council for Economic Defense or “CADE”) - has ordered a divestiture after a two-year review of Coca-Cola‘s acquisition of a Brazilian bottled tea company. The acquisition of Leão Junior already was completed in 2007, and CADE now has ruled that Coca-Cola must end its partnership with Nestlé to avoid excessive concentration in the local tea market. This is the most recent example of CADE‘s aggressive approach to large mergers in Brazilian markets. I. Merger Authority of CADE Brazilian Antitrust Law authorizes CADE to enforce Brazil's antitrust laws and to prohibit any action that might