Colombia: SIC ends year with four M&A operations

Almost a year after signing their agreement, German multinational Brenntag will acquire, for 39 billion Colombian pesos (US $ 12.3 million), local rival Conquímica. The company, based in Medellin, is mainly dedicated to the distribution of industrial and specialized chemical products. Anthony Gerace, managing director of Brenntag Group, said it is a strategic adjustment that will bolster the presence of the European multinational in Colombia.

Likewise, the Jerónimo Martins Colombia (JCM) company took control of 48% of an area in Nemocón (Cundinamarca), where its rival Cooratiendas is located. The operation was endorsed without objections by the SIC, as the move allows a new competitor to enter the retail sector in the Cundinamarca municipality, and the agency recognizes a difference in measuring market concentration between commercial establishments of the traditional channel (neighborhood corner stores) and those such as supermarkets.

Meanwhile, the Costa Rican group Comeca – through its Colombian subsidiary Soluciones Logísticas y Empaques (SLE) – acquired the main business of Colombian company Servicios Logypack (formerly Litoempaques), which produces decorative tin containers. The SIC clarified that Superpack, which is controlled by SLE, will continue to perform its normal packaging and manufacturing operations as it currently does in the domestic market.

Finally, Inversiones Roa will ally with its competitor Diana, creating a joint venture (to be split 50-50), which will operate a plant to thresh rice imported from the US and take advantage of the recently ratified Free Trade Agreement. However, SIC imposed conditions on the deal, forcing the joint operation to offer access to the facilities at their port and threshing plant to other competitors for a period of 5 years.

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