Brazilian Antitrust Authority Reviews & Investigations

Antitrust: CADE’s Priorities in 2026

Brazil’s antitrust authority (Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica – CADE) remained highly active in 2025, with a series of significant decisions issued in merger reviews and investigations, as well as regulatory debates on sectors that are likely to stay on the authority’s radar throughout 2026.

The agency’s decisions reflect the focus on core competition policy issues, such as strong scrutiny over partnerships between competitors and concerns over the exchange of competitively sensitive information, as well as ongoing discussions on the role of antitrust enforcement in an era of increasing market digitalization. CADE also expanded its review of transactions and conducts involving digital platforms and markets, while paying particular attention to deals in sectors such as aviation, infrastructure, logistics and technology.

These developments show an increasingly sophisticated enforcement environment, underscoring the need for companies to factor in competition considerations when planning their corporate transactions and commercial strategies.

CADE has already acknowledged, on several occasions, the importance of partnerships, including their role in fostering new products, services and business models that benefit consumers and the market as a whole. Recent discussions do not change this view, but they do underscore the importance of companies taking competition aspects into account from the earliest stages of prospecting and project planning through to execution – particularly when partnerships involve companies operating within the same sector, or that could be seen as competitors to a certain degree

Marcio Soares

Partner – Antitrust

CADE has shown a willingness to engage in discussions on the challenges arising from the increase of market digitalization. In this context, companies should seek to actively participate in forums, public consultations and debates held by CADE and other relevant agencies, in order to bring their different and complementary perspectives to the table. These contributions will be important and will help CADE to strike the right balance between any need for intervention and the preservation of a business environment that encourages innovation and allows market dynamism