Brazil’s antitrust regulator Cade has accepted challenges filed against the purchase of HMO SulAmérica by industry heavyweight Rede D’Or, which was greenlit by Cade’s general superintendency earlier in November.
At the time, Cade said the takeover brings no harm to competition in the healthcare sector. Rede D’Or is Brazil’s largest private hospital operator, while SulAmérica is the country’s fifth-biggest HMO, with a portfolio of around 2.5 million lives.
But third parties concerned by the acquisition — including hospitals Albert Einstein, Oswaldo Cruz, Beneficência Portuguesa, HCor, Mater Dei, and Sírio-Líbanes, and HMOs Bradesco Saúde, Benevix, and Supermed — challenged the merger.
According to the newspaper Valor, they expressed concern about the high concentration of healthcare services in certain cities, new barriers to entry in markets affected by the acquisition, and conflicts of interest, among other things.
Rede D’Or has ten days to respond to the concerns raised.Per a note by BTG Pactual analysts, the appeals process will delay the planned acquisition but is not expected to fundamentally change Cade’s initial position on the merger.
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