# Assaí ends SEC registration and consolidates liquidity in Brazil

*Cash-and-carry retailer files Form 15F after NYSE delisting, reinforcing focus on governance and trading on B3.*

- Published: 2026-01-13
- Section: Insights
- Tags: ADR Level I, ADS, ASAI3, Assaí Atacadista, B3 Novo Mercado, Brazil equity market, Brazilian retailers, capital markets Brazil, corporate governance, Form 15F, liquidity repatriation, NYSE delisting, SEC deregistration
- URL: https://brazilstockguide.com/insights/assai-ends-sec-registration-brazil-liquidity/

**By Brazil Stock Guide –** **Assaí Atacadista** (ASAI3) took the final step to end its regulatory presence in the United States by filing **Form 15F** with the **Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)**, seeking to terminate its registration and disclosure obligations under the **Securities and Exchange Act of 1934**. The move follows the delisting of the company’s **American Depositary Shares (ADSs)** from the **New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)**, effective before the market opened on January 10, 2025.

With the filing of Form 15F, the company’s SEC reporting obligations are **immediately suspended**. In the absence of any objection from the regulator, the deregistration is expected to become **effective within 90 days**, formally closing Assaí’s regulatory chapter in the US capital markets.

**Orderly exit**
The decision concludes a process launched in December 2024 and reinforces Assaí’s strategy of concentrating capital, governance and investor communication in **Brazil**, where its core operations and shareholder base are located. The company said its common shares will **remain listed on B3’s Novo Mercado**, subject to Brazilian regulation, with full compliance with periodic and event-driven disclosures.

Assaí also underscored that **virtually all trading liquidity is already concentrated on B3**, which has become its principal—and in practice only—relevant trading venue. The shift removes fragmentation between markets and aligns liquidity, governance and decision-making within a single regulatory framework.

“The filing of Form 15F closes a regulatory phase, but it does not change our commitment to transparency and governance,” the company said in a statement released on Tuesday.

**Governance without dual listing**
Despite exiting the SEC regime, Assaí said it will **voluntarily maintain its current corporate governance practices**, consistent with Novo Mercado standards. Its ADR programme has been downgraded to **Level I**, and the ADSs will continue to trade **over the counter (OTC)** in the US, without the disclosure requirements applicable to SEC-registered issuers.

For market participants, the move reflects a broader **cost-benefit reassessment of dual listings**. With limited liquidity abroad and rising compliance costs, Brazilian companies have increasingly chosen to focus on domestic markets, where investor participation is deeper and information asymmetries are lower.

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Source: Brazil Stock Guide, https://brazilstockguide.com/insights/assai-ends-sec-registration-brazil-liquidity/