Mexico City, May 31, 2018, Santamarina y Steta advised, through its partner Ernesto Duhne and the associate Ivan Szymanski, Bartlett and Bagalmex1 in obtaining the authorization from the Federal Economic Competition Commission ("FECC") to complete the Transaction.
It was the first time a merger review request was made to the COFECE in this market, because of the relevance of the case into the national economy, as these grains are part of the what the Mexican Government denominate “Canasta Básica” (basic food to which all Mexicans shall have access). Our client, Bartlett, controls around 25% of the market of corn in Mexico and the targets were the largest distributors of corn in México City.
Bartlett is one of the largest importers, distributors and sellers of grains in North America (wheat, white corn, yellow corn, milo (sorghum) and DDG). Currently Bartlett controls around 25% of all the corn commercialized in Mexico. On the other side, Contri was Bartlett’s main customer and distributor in Mexico City, Tlaxcala and Hidalgo (serving an approximate of 27 million people) and was the owner of the largest grain elevator (grain warehouse) in Mexico’s central region.