Minister Nunes Marques, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), scheduled a conciliation hearing for November 18 on a legal dispute that has been going on for years between J&F Investimentosof the Batista brothers, and the Paper Excellencefrom Indonesia’s Asia Pulp & Paper, for control of Eldorado Cellulose.
According to a note from the STF this Monday (14), the minister reporting the case denied the injunction and maintained the suspension of the transfer of Eldorado shares. The R$15 billion deal was agreed in 2017, when Paper Excellence reached an agreement with J&F to buy Eldorado Celulose, before the sector underwent a wave of investments that catapulted the country’s cellulose production capacity.
The deal ended up not being concluded and was taken to court, with an arbitration court recognizing “irregularity in J&F’s conduct” and determining the transfer of Eldorado Celulose shares to Paper Excellence. J&F then appealed this arbitration decision in the São Paulo Court.
Nunes Marques’ decision is about a popular action filed in the Federal Court of Santa Catarina by the former mayor of Chapecó Luciano José Buligon, who claims that the deal puts national sovereignty at risk since Paper Excellence is foreign-owned.
The Federal Regional Court of the 4th Region (TRF-4) accepted the Santa Catarina politician’s request and suspended the execution of the arbitration decision, according to the STF.
Paper Excellence argues in the Supreme Court that the TRF-4 decision violates a court decision that deals with the acquisition of rural property by a Brazilian company with the participation of foreign people or companies, according to a statement from the STF.
