{"id":99686,"date":"2026-08-20T19:28:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T22:28:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/?p=99686"},"modified":"2026-08-20T19:38:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T22:38:56","slug":"abra-files-antitrust-appeal-against-american-airlines-investment-in-azul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/abra-files-antitrust-appeal-against-american-airlines-investment-in-azul\/","title":{"rendered":"Abra files antitrust appeal against American Airlines investment in Azul"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Holding company of Gol and Avianca cites risk of coordination among competitors and potential loss of rival airline\u2019s independence<\/strong><\/em><\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Gol believes American Airlines and United could end up coordinating with Azul in the Brazilian market \u2014 Photo: Divulga\u00e7\u00e3o\/Azul<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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Abra, the holding company for Gol and Avianca, filed an administrative appeal on Tuesday (18) with Brazil\u2019s antitrust watchdog, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade), challenging the unconditional approval of American Airlines\u2019s investment in Azul.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Approval had been granted on July 31 by Cade\u2019s General Superintendence (SG). In the filing, Abra cited risk of coordination among competitors, plus a window for exchanging sensitive information and a possible loss of Azul\u2019s independence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Abra\u2019s decision to challenge the deal had been reported by\u00a0Valor<\/strong>\u00a0on August 14. Abra was admitted as an interested third party in the proceeding, which gives it the right to appeal the SG\u2019s decision to the Tribunal. In fact, the deadline for the appeal was Wednesday (19).\u00a0The tribunal will now review the matter, and if the appeal is accepted, it would likely further delay American Airlines\u2019 possible investment in the Brazilian carrier<\/span>. There is also a risk that the antitrust agency could demand remedies, which could even make the deal unviable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As part of Azul\u2019s Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the U.S., American and United decided to invest $100 million each in the Brazilian airline. United\u2019s investment, as an airline that was already an Azul shareholder, was approved by the Cade this past February. More recently, the SG had also approved American\u2019s investment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Abra is among the deal\u2019s fiercest critics, saying American will have powers similar to those of a controlling shareholder at Azul, especially given the creation of the airline\u2019s strategic committee, which includes representatives from both American and United Airlines.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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American, for its part, is a longtime partner of Gol and once held a 5% stake in the Brazilian airline before being diluted in its restructuring.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe transaction creates a scenario in which the incentives for independent competition among American Airlines, United Airlines, and Azul may be materially reduced, raising the likelihood of coordination or competitive accommodation in scheduled air transport between Brazil and the United States. The reduction in competitive incentives can occur both directly\u2013through diminished incentives for AA, UA, and Azul to compete aggressively with one another\u2013and indirectly, through greater strategic interdependence between AA and UA themselves, resulting from their simultaneous participation in Azul\u2019s governance,\u201d Abra\u2019s legal team said in a statement, citing two technical opinions on the matter signed by professors\u00a0Carlos Emmanuel Joppert Ragazzo<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Guilherme Mendes Resende<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The holding company also noted that United Airlines is already Azul\u2019s second-largest shareholder, with roughly an 8.6% stake\u2014the largest shareholder holds about 8.7% and is an asset manager. Abra further noted that, with the exception of United\u2014and American Airlines, should the deal go through\u2014all of Azul\u2019s other individual shareholders with stakes above 5% are currently investment funds and\/or institutional investors. That type of investor, the holding company argued, may have different investment horizons and incentives, and could seek to adjust or reduce their stakes over time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIn other words, over the medium term, American Airlines\u2019s and United Airlines\u2019s equity stakes in Azul will tend to become even more significant and representative. In fact, American Airlines\u2019s and United Airlines\u2019s combined stake could reach around 19%, positioning those competitors as Azul\u2019s principal reference shareholders,\u201d Abra stated in the filing, signed by the law firms Alexandre Cordeiro Advocacia and Caminati Bueno Advogados.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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On the 13th, the Institute for Research and Studies on Society and Consumption (IPSConsumo) asked Cade\u2019s Tribunal to take up and deepen its review of American Airlines\u2019 investment in Azul\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe Tribunal has already shown that it understands the complexity of this arrangement and its possible negative effects on the Brazilian market, particularly on routes between Brazil and the U.S. We trust the panel will deepen its analysis and assess, with the necessary caution, measures capable of preserving rivalry among competing companies,\u201d wrote IPSConsumo\u2019s president and former National Secretary for Consumer Affairs,\u00a0Juliana Pereira<\/strong>. IPSConsumo was denied status as an interested third party in the case by Cade\u2019s SG.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Azul did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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*By Cristian Favaro\u00a0\u2014 S\u00e3o Paulo
\nSource: Valor international
\nhttps:\/\/valorinternational.globo.com\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Holding company of Gol and Avianca cites risk of coordination among competitors and potential loss of rival airline\u2019s independence       08\/20\/2026\u00a0 Gol believes American Airlines and United could end up coordinating with Azul in the Brazilian market \u2014 Photo: Divulga\u00e7\u00e3o\/Azul Abra, the holding company for Gol and Avianca, filed an administrative appeal on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8106],"tags":[27100,27101],"class_list":["post-99686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-murray-news","tag-abra-files-antitrust-appeal","tag-against-american-airlines-investment-in-azul"],"yoast_head":"\nAbra files antitrust appeal against American Airlines investment in Azul - Murray Advogados<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/abra-files-antitrust-appeal-against-american-airlines-investment-in-azul\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Abra files antitrust appeal against American Airlines investment in Azul - 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