By Ana ManoSAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian federal prosecutors are asking a judge to unwind a 2017 deal handing control of pulp and paper company Eldorado from Brazilian firm J&F to Paper Excellence Group, citing restrictions on foreign land ownership.
In 2017, J&F Investimentos agreed to sell Eldorado Brasil Celulose to a unit of Paper Excellence at an enterprise value of 15 billion reais ($3.0 billion).
Brazil imposed limitations on foreign land ownership in the early 1970s, but spotty public records have left uncertainty about how consistently those restrictions are enforced.
In December, Brazil's rural land agency Incra issued a recommendation saying the deal would effectively give Paper Excellence control of 14,486 hectares of rural land owned by Eldorado.
Paper Excellence said Incra's opinion was not legally binding, and a judge has not ruled on the prosecutors' motion.
Persons:
Ana Mano, unwind, Investimentos, Jackson Widjaja, Incra, Eldorado, Iraja Abreu, Brad Haynes, David Ljunggren
Organizations:
Ana Mano SAO PAULO, Reuters, Eldorado, Excellence, Eldorado Brasil, Agrarian Reform Ministry
Locations:
Brazil, Canada, Europe, Latin America, United States, Eldorado ., Eldorado