By Brazil Stock Guide – The Coelho Diniz family increased its combined stake in GPA SA (PCAR3), the Brazilian retailer that owns the Pão de Açúcar supermarket chain, to 25.1% of the company’s common shares, according to a filing disclosed Friday and reported by Valor Econômico.
The move comes shortly after GPA shareholders approved the removal of a so-called poison pill provision from the company’s bylaws. The clause previously required any shareholder or group reaching 25% of GPA’s common shares to launch a tender offer for the remaining stock, a mechanism designed to protect minority investors from creeping control.
Before the latest increase, the Minas Gerais-based Coelho Diniz family, which also operates in Brazil’s supermarket industry, held 24.6% of GPA’s common shares. The new position puts the group above the former threshold that would have triggered a mandatory offer.
The bylaw change was approved by a majority of GPA shareholders, eliminating the article that had imposed the tender-offer requirement. Its removal has given large investors more room to build positions in the retailer without automatically being forced to bid for the rest of the company.
GPA has also seen another relevant shareholder group expand its position. Bonsucex Holding and businessman Silvio Tini, the owner of Bonsucex, recently raised their combined direct and indirect stake in GPA to about 25.795% of common shares.
The changes point to a reshuffling of GPA’s shareholder base as investors move to strengthen their influence over one of Brazil’s best-known food retailers. GPA, formally Companhia Brasileira de Distribuição, operates the Pão de Açúcar brand and is listed in São Paulo under the ticker PCAR3.