SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian meatpacker Minerva on Tuesday proposed selling one of its potential future cattle slaughterhouses in Uruguay as it looks to ease antitrust concerns over its stymied attempt to buy three local slaughterhouses from rival Marfrig.
Minerva said it has sent a new request for approval to Uruguay’s watchdog Coprodec, now proposing to sell one of the three plants it wishes to buy from Marfrig – its Colonia unit – immediately after the deal.
The adjusted proposal seeks to reduce Coprodec’s worries about how the deal would impact competition after the antitrust body blocked the transaction last year, a decision later upheld by the South American nation’s government.
The proposed purchase of the Uruguayan slaughterhouses are part of a broader deal announced in 2023, through which Minerva would buy a total of 16 slaughtering plants from Marfrig in South America for 7.5 billion reais.
Minerva already concluded the acquisition of the other 13 plants of the deal, located outside Uruguay.
(Reporting by Andre Romani; Editing by Sarah Morland)
