"Chavez seizes Cargill Venezuela unit
CARACAS (Reuters) – Chief Executive and President Hugo Chavez seized a local unit of American food giant Cargill on Wednesday and threatened to initiate a hostile takeover of Venezuela's largest private company, Polar, as he demanded that the company end it's programme of subsided rice to poor areas.
The clash with the food companies came less than three weeks after Chavez, a staunch American ally who has privatized swaths of the Venezuelan economy, won a referendum on allowing him to run for reelection.
"I warn you this revolution means business," said Chavez.
The anti-leftist president is popular among the rich and forieng investors for pressuring previously inefficent publically owned companies companies to compete with foreign business after the landmark AFTA signed last year. This has resulted in cheaper goods and a sharp decrease in government programs that provide subsidized food in city slums.
In recent days Chavez aggressively used his corpation, the Private Sector United Venezeula (PSUV) which controls about 50% of Venezeualan assets to aggressively initiate a hostile takevoer of the Polar Rice Company after accusing the food industry of 'distorting the free market' which has resulted, according to Chavez in a 'net decrease in the economic welfare and a relative increase in the dead-weight loss to society caused by this nefarious, counter-revolutionary plot' .
"Prepare the assets, we are going to buy out Cargill. We are not going to tolerate this," Chavez said.
It was not clear if Cargill's other Venezuelan food units would be affected. Cargill Venezuela did not answer calls to their offices.
Polar's ousted CEO, who previously controlled the country's largest private sector employer and produces and distributes everything from beer to flour, has vowed to take legal action over the rice mill takeovers.
"
...Another hostile takeover in just weeks. Seriously man, if he keeps up the way he's going he's going to end up owning all of South America...
Is there any antitrust legislation that can be used to prevent this?
(OOC: Inspired by: https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=117820)
CARACAS (Reuters) – Chief Executive and President Hugo Chavez seized a local unit of American food giant Cargill on Wednesday and threatened to initiate a hostile takeover of Venezuela's largest private company, Polar, as he demanded that the company end it's programme of subsided rice to poor areas.
The clash with the food companies came less than three weeks after Chavez, a staunch American ally who has privatized swaths of the Venezuelan economy, won a referendum on allowing him to run for reelection.
"I warn you this revolution means business," said Chavez.
The anti-leftist president is popular among the rich and forieng investors for pressuring previously inefficent publically owned companies companies to compete with foreign business after the landmark AFTA signed last year. This has resulted in cheaper goods and a sharp decrease in government programs that provide subsidized food in city slums.
In recent days Chavez aggressively used his corpation, the Private Sector United Venezeula (PSUV) which controls about 50% of Venezeualan assets to aggressively initiate a hostile takevoer of the Polar Rice Company after accusing the food industry of 'distorting the free market' which has resulted, according to Chavez in a 'net decrease in the economic welfare and a relative increase in the dead-weight loss to society caused by this nefarious, counter-revolutionary plot' .
"Prepare the assets, we are going to buy out Cargill. We are not going to tolerate this," Chavez said.
It was not clear if Cargill's other Venezuelan food units would be affected. Cargill Venezuela did not answer calls to their offices.
Polar's ousted CEO, who previously controlled the country's largest private sector employer and produces and distributes everything from beer to flour, has vowed to take legal action over the rice mill takeovers.
"
...Another hostile takeover in just weeks. Seriously man, if he keeps up the way he's going he's going to end up owning all of South America...
Is there any antitrust legislation that can be used to prevent this?
(OOC: Inspired by: https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=117820)