Professional notice
| Global head | Bernardo Gouthier Macedo |
|---|---|
| Home jurisdiction | Brazil |
| Countries with competition specialists | 1 |
| Continents with competition specialists | 1 |
| Total number of economists | 90 |
| Competition economists | 25 |
| Percentage of firm specialised | 28% |
| Who’s Who Legal: Competition nominees | 3 |
| Group one | 1 |
| Group two | 3 |
| Group three | 4 |
| Group four | 17 |
| Lateral hires | 0 |
| Departures | 0 |
| Internal promotions | 0 |
LCA Consultores boasts a track record advising clients in many of Brazil’s most important merger reviews and antitrust litigations. Bernardo Gouthier Macedo leads the group of 25 competition specialists, which includes highly regarded economists Sílvia Fagá and Gustavo Madi Rezende.
LCA was hired by Sony Music Entertainment to assist in its acquisition of Brazilian music publisher Som Livre, which Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense cleared without remedies. The firm has also acted for Diagnósticos da América (DASA), Brazil’s largest integrated health service provider, in several matters, including helping win CADE approval for its acquisition of Hospital da Bahia. In another matter, LCA advised Carrefour on its acquisition of rival supermarket Grupo BIG, which CADE cleared subject to the divestiture of shops in nine municipalities.
Though most of its recent work has been transactional in nature, LCA has also received some notable instructions in behavioural matters. It advised iFood in a probe by CADE, which led to the issuance and subsequent lifting of an interim injunction on the food delivery app following complaints by rivals Rappi, Uber Eats and 99 Food alleging the company abused its dominance by signing exclusive contracts with partner restaurants. LCA was also hired by Ambev, against whom Heineken has raised abuse of dominance allegations related to its exclusivity agreements.
Founded in 1995, LCA is the largest Brazilian economic consulting firm. We have a highly qualified team of about 100 fully dedicated professionals.
Our core competencies are in four areas: macroeconomics; market intelligence; investment and corporate finance; and economics and law.
LCA’s economics and law practice is the leader in competition economics in Brazil, with major achievements in antitrust, litigation and regulation – it ranks among the “Economics 23” list in the GCR 100. Its practice also covers trade defence, private litigation, international disputes, arbitration, tax, financial economics and valuation.
The economics and law team offers a full-service portfolio, from strategic and technical counselling and expert economic opinions to interaction with the Brazilian antitrust authorities; regulatory agencies; and the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government.
LCA has taken part in several high-profile cases brought before the Brazilian antitrust authorities to date and has been involved in many multi-jurisdictional cases – such as Suzano/Fibria, Fox/Disney, Google Search, Basf/Solenis, FX Cartel and Natura/Avon. In regulation, LCA’s practice covers a wide array of industries, such as telecoms, electric power, aviation, ports, railway and biofuel. It has led projects in many industries, including banking, education, healthcare, cement, digital markets and advertising, automobile parts, food, beer, petrochemicals and chemicals, retail, tobacco, steel and metallurgy, fertilizer, lenses, fuel, civil aviation, orange juice, pulp and paper, and magazine distribution.
LCA’s team has more than 30 professionals fully dedicated to economics and law, with huge and diversified experience and lasting partnerships with the main law firms in Brazil. The expertise of its team is recognised by Who’s Who Legal, which features Bernardo Gouthier Macedo and Silvia Fagá de Almeida as Thought Leaders, and Gustavo Madi as a Competition Economist worldwide.
LCA is the only Brazilian consultancy to have led cases that won GCR awards – Merger Control Matter of the Year (Americas)–twice: in 2020, with Disney/Fox, and in 2015, with the Kroton-Anhanguera case, a merger that created the biggest education firm in the Americas. Also, in 2020 the Google Shopping probe was shortlisted for the Behavioural Matter of the Year (Americas) award. With LCA’s support, CADE’s Tribunal found no competitive harm at the Brazilian market, after seven years of investigation.
Website: www.lcaconsultores.com.br