The European Commission has cleared Petrobras and IG4 Group to take joint control of Brazilian petrochemicals company Braskem under the EU’s Merger Regulation.
Braskem S.A. will be jointly controlled by Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) and IG4 Capital Partners Holding General Partner Limited — together with its affiliated entities, the IG4 Group — the Commission said on Wednesday.
The transaction relates primarily to the petrochemical industry, it added.
The Commission stated it did not identify competition concerns because the companies would have a limited combined market position after the deal.
The merger was assessed using the Commission’s simplified review procedure, which is used for cases it considers unlikely to raise competition issues.
Earlier approval in Brazil
Brazil’s antitrust regulator, the Administrative Council for Economic Defence (CADE), approved IG4 Capital’s acquisition of a controlling interest in Braskem from Novonor in March, according to a regulatory document cited by Reuters.
That approval was granted without restrictions.
The deal involving Novonor and IG4 Capital was described as a transfer of control valued at about 20 billion reais in credit secured by Braskem shares and held by some of Brazil’s largest banking institutions.
