Paper Excellence loses (another) appeal for Eldorado

Photo: Danilo Verpa/Folhapress

A regional committee of the superintendency of Incra, Brazil’s agrarian reform institute, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul this week rejected an appeal by the Indonesian company Paper Excellence (PE) over Eldorado, one of the largest pulp producers in the country. The company previously belonged to J&F Investimentos, from the same group as meat giant JBS.

Contrary to what Brazilian news outlets reported, this appeal is not new but is the same one filed by PE in mid-January and which had already been denied by Incra’s superintendent in Mato Grosso do Sul state. The company is questioning whether, after a first denial, the matter should be evaluated by Incra’s higher management in Brasilia, since the same superintendent is also part of the regional committee that has now also denied the appeal.

In December last year, Incra concluded in an analysis that the agreement for J&F to sell Eldorado in 2017 for BRL 15 billion (USD 3.1 billion) should not have been signed because PE was not duly authorized to acquire land in the country. Foreign companies have limited rights when it comes to buying land in Brazil.

Incra then recommended the voluntary termination...

Fabiane Ziolla Menezes

Former editor-in-chief of LABS (Latin America Business Stories), Fabiane has more than 15 years of experience reporting on business, finance, innovation, and cities in Brazil. The latter recently took her back to the classroom and made her a Master in Urban Management from PUCPR. At TBR, she keeps an eye on economic policy, game-changing businesses, and people driving innovation in Latin America.