Brazil approves big food company merger

Brazilian authorities Wednesday approved the merger of food companies Sadia and Perdigao to create a major global producer to be called Brasil Foods. The new company will have annual revenues of some 23 billion reals ($13 billion), some 110,000 employees in Brazil and will be one of the biggest global poultry exporters. The Brazilian competition agency CADE approved the merger, which had been announced in 2009, agency president Olavo Zago Chinaglia said. The agency said that the new firm will not be able to use the Perdigao brand for three to five years, and will be unable to create new brands, which could help competing firms.