Brazil's antitrust agency limited the takeover of Grupo Ipiranga's assets by Petroleo Brasileiro SA and another company until a review is completed on whether the purchase may hurt competition.

Brazil's antitrust agency, known as Cade, said on its Web site it granted a provisional order prohibiting Petrobras from changing sales and business-development policies of Companhia Petroquimica do Sul and Ipiranga's fuel-distribution assets.

The order also prevents Braskem SA, Latin America's biggest petrochemical company, from changing sales and business- development policies of Ipiranga Quimica SA and Ipiranga Petroquimica SA.

Petrobras, Brazil's state-controlled oil company, Braskem and petrochemical group Ultra agreed last month agreed to pay about $4 billion for Brazil's Ipiranga Group.

Cade issued the order yesterday evening following a request by the country's justice and finance ministries.

Braskem said in an e-mail statement that the measure won't prevent the company from closing the purchase of Ipiranga's assets today.

(Published by The Bloomberg, April 18)