This transaction regards the acquisition of Linx, a Brazilian provider of software services by Stone (Nasdaq listed, STNE), a provider of financial technology solutions.
A CRA team prepared a report assessing the transaction as a conglomerate acquisition and presented evidence to CADE that the merged company would have neither the ability nor the incentives to harm competition. Moreover, they showed that the acquisition had pro-competitive effects, as it would result in a broader portfolio of services by Stone, enabling it to impose fiercer rivalry on the market leaders.
Although four competitors challenged the transaction as third parties, the acquisition was cleared without restrictions by CADE.
