BMS/AMCRF: CADE Tribunal Unanimously Clears Amcor’s Bid of Bemis

Relevant Document:
140 Judgment Session Agenda

Takeaways
 

• Amcor Ltd. and Bemis Co. obtained clearance from the tribunal for Brazil’s antitrust authority at a judgment session today, April 10.
• Although Bemis and Amcor offered a remedy package to mitigate concerns regarding high market concentration for cold form foil blister packaging, also known as CFF or AluAlu, the tribunal’s approval did not impose conditions upon the merger.
• With approval from Brazil’s CADE, the DOJ is now the final regulatory hurdle before Amcor’s pending purchase of Bemis. The companies anticipate the transaction to close on May 15.

The tribunal for Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense, or CADE, voted to clear Amcor Ltd.’s buyout of Bemis Co. during a judgment session today, April 10. Although Bemis and Amcor offered a remedy package to mitigate concerns regarding high market concentration for cold form foil blister packaging, also known as CFF or AluAlu, the tribunal’s approval did not impose conditions upon the merger.

As Reorg M&A previously reported, the competition enforcer was expected to issue its decision in April after the companies’ lawyers completed negotiations with CADE counselors and the authority finished data collection from market participants.

CADE’s Superintendence General, or SG, concluded the market for CFF was highly concentrated with an absence sufficient competitors. Therefore, the SG referred Bemis’ acquisition by Amcor to the administrative tribunal on Feb. 8. Shortly after on Feb. 13, the merger was assigned to Counselor João Paulo de Resende’s cabinet for further review. Today, Counselor João Paulo de Resende led the unanimous approval without conditions during the tribunal’s judgment session.

With approval from Brazil’s CADE, the DOJ is now the final regulatory hurdle before Amcor’s pending takeover of Bemis. The companies anticipate the transaction to be completed on May 15. It is still subject to the Bemis and Amcor shareholder vote scheduled for May 2 and customary closing conditions.

Reorg M&A’s previous coverage of this transaction can be found HERE.

--Hannah Deichman