Gerais Saneamento’s 30% Copasa stake approved by Brazil’s antitrust regulator

Brazil’s antitrust authority, the Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica (Cade), unanimously approved the acquisition of a 30% share in the state‑owned water utility Copasa (Companhia de Saneamento de Minas Gerais) by Gerais Saneamento, a company of the Equatorial Group. The transaction, part of Copasa’s privatization through a secondary public offering, was cleared without any restrictions.

The Sindicato dos Trabalhadores nas Indústrias de Purificação e Distribuição de Água e em Serviços de Esgotos do Estado de Minas Gerais (Sindágua/MG) sought to intervene, raising concerns that the deal would consolidate user data from São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Amapá under a single group. Cade admitted the union’s request as a third‑party interest but ultimately rejected its appeal, noting that data‑governance issues remain subject to existing data‑protection laws. Equatorial’s representative emphasized that the group holds no other water‑service assets in Minas Gerais, arguing the acquisition poses no competition risk.