Corporate Law
In line with several measures aiming at reducing bureaucratic costs for Brazilian companies, the Federal Government issued, on August 5, the Provisional Measure (MP) No. 892, exempting Brazilian publicly held companies from publishing their legal documents in major newspapers, as set forth in the Brazilian Corporate Law (Law No. 6,404/1976).
As per the MP, such publications can only be made on the websites of these companies, as well as on the website of the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) and on the website of the Brazilian stock exchange, B3. For privately held corporations, which shares are not publicly traded, the publication and disclosure of the corporate documents will be regulated by an act of the Ministry of Economy, which was not published yet.
Such rule, even though still provisional, brings at least two significant impacts: (a) it reduces the costs of these publications by corporations, which were required to be made in the Official Gazette and in one widely circulated newspaper; and (b) it facilitates the access to information by interested third parties.
The MP, however, will only be effective on the first day of the month following the date of publication of the rules by Ministry of Economy and CVM, and Brazilian Congress will have 120 days to approve the MP and convert it definitively into Law.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.