BRUSSELS, March 18 (Reuters) - The following are mergers
under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the
EU merger process:
APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS
None
NEW LISTINGS
-- Belgian steel wire maker NV Bekaert SA BEKB.BR and
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board to jointly control a wire
rope business (notified March 16/April 25)
-- UK private equity firm EQT to acquire Swiss travel
company Kuoni Travel KUNN.S notified March 16/deadline April
25)
EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES
None
FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE
MARCH 22
-- Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin producer Indorama
Netherlands to acquire Guadarranque Polyester (notified Feb.
16/deadline March 22)
MARCH 29
-- Statoil Fuel and Retail STL.OL to acquire fuels
business of Dansk Fuels (notified on Feb. 4/deadline extended to
March 29 from March 10 after the companies submitted
concessions)
MARCH 30
-- CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd 0001.HK and Vimpelcom VIP.O
to merge their Italian mobile operations (notified Feb.
5/deadline extended to March 30 from March 11 after the Italian
competition authority requested to take over the case)
APRIL 1
-- British rivate equity firm Bridgepoint Group to acquire
Polish children's apparel and toy store chain SMYK Group
(notified Feb. 23/deadline April 1/simplified)
APRIL 6
-- U.S. food containers maker Newell Rubbermaid (NYSE:NWL) NWL.N to
acquire Jarden JAH.N , U.S. maker of Sunbeam and Coleman
products maker (notified Feb. 26/deadline April 6/simplified)
-- Global Infrastructure Partners and Canada Pension Plan
Investment Board to jointly acquire some businesses from
Australian freight company Asciano AIO.AX (notified Feb.
26/deadline April 6/simplified)
-- Worldline WLN.PA to acquire PaySquare from Equens
(notified Feb. 26/deadline April 6)
APRIL 7
-- Hungarian oil and gas group MOL MOLB.BU to acquire ENI
Hungaria and ENI Slovenia from Italian oil producer Eni ENI.MI
(notified Feb. 29/deadline April 7)
-- U.S. private equity firms Warburg Pincus WP.UL and
General Atlantic to jointly acquire U.S. asset management
company Pioneer U.S. (notified Feb. 29/deadline April
7/simplified)
-- Private equity firms Apax Partners and Neuberger Berman
Acquisition LLC to jointly acquire Italian tech services
provider Engineering Ingegneria Informatica SPA (notified Feb.
29/deadline April 7/simplified)
-- U.S. technology consulting company Computer Sciences Corp (NYSE:CSC)
CSC.N to acquire British outsourcing company Xchanging Plc
XCH.L (notified Feb. 29/deadline April 7/simplified)
APRIL 15
-- French container shipping giant CMA CGM to acquire
Singaporean rival Neptune Orient Lines NEPS.SI (notified March
8/deadline April 15)
APRIL 19
-- Austria's Erste Group Bank ERST.VI and U.S. company
Global Payments Inc GPN.N to acquire joint control of Global
Payments s.r.o. (notified March 10/deadline April 19)
APRIL 21
-- French container shipping company CMA CGM and French
conglomerate Bollore BOLL.PA to jointly develop a container
terminal in Cameroonian port of Kribi (notified March
14/deadline April 21/simplified)
MAY 19
-- Hutchison Whampoa 0001.HK to acquire Telefonica's
TEF.MC O2 UK subsidiary (notified Sept. 11/deadline extended
to May 19 from April 22 after Hutchison offered concessions)
JULY 11
-- Oilfield services provider Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) HAL.N to buy
rival Baker Hughes BHI.N in a stock and cash transaction
(notified Nov. 27/deadline extended to July 11 after the
Commission resumed its scrutiny of the deal)
JULY 12
-- Airbus Safran Launchers, a 50/50 joint venture between
Airbus AIR.PA and Safran SAF.PA , to acquire sole control of
satellite group Arianespace (notified on Jan. 8/deadline
extended to July 12 from Feb. 26 after the Commission opened an
in-depth investigation)
SUSPENDED
-- SOCAR, Azerbaijan's state energy company, to buy stakes
in Greek natural gas grid operator DESFA from Greek natural gas
utility DEPA (notified Oct. 1/deadline suspended on Jan. 21)
GUIDE TO EU MERGER PROCESS
DEADLINES:
The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is
filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working
days to 35 working days, to consider either a company's proposed
remedies or an EU member state's request to handle the case.
Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission
opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90
additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working
days.
SIMPLIFIED:
Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the
clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving
any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as
non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until
they are approved.