BRUSSELS, April 4 (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
-- HeidelbergCement HEIG.DE to acquire Italian peer
Italcementi ITAI.MI (notified April 1/deadline May 11)
-- British drugmaker Shire SHP.L to acquire U.S. peer
Baxalta BXLT.N (notified April 1/deadline May 11/simplified)
-- Denmark to acquire sole control of Danish energy company
Dong IPO-DONG.CO , which it now jointly owns with investment
bank Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) GS.N (notified April 1/deadline May
11/simplified)
-- U.S. seeds and chemical maker Dow Chemical (NYSE:DOW) Co DOW.N to
acquire sole control of Dow Corning which is currently a joint
venture between Dow and U.S. glass maker Corning
GLW.N (notified March 23/deadline May 2/simplified)
EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES
-- 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 27 from July 12 after the companies asked for
more time)
-- Worldline WLN.PA to acquire PaySquare from Equens
(notified Feb. 26/deadline extended to April 20 from April 6
after Worldline offered concessions)
-- Global Infrastructure Partners and Canada Pension Plan
Investment Board to jointly acquire some businesses from
Australian freight company Asciano AIO.AX (application
withdrawn March 18)
FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE
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)
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 the Cameroonian port of Kribi (notified March
14/deadline April 21/simplified)
APRIL 25
-- 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)
APRIL 27
-- Deutsche Bank DBKGn.DE and transport asset management
company Ermewa to jointly acquire control of asset management
company Akiem which is now solely controlled by Ermewa (notified
March 18/deadline April 27)
APRIL 29
-- U.S. private equity firm Rhone Capital to acquire a
controlling stake in Garda World Security GRWSC.UL which is
now solely controlled by UK private equity firm Apax Partners
LLP (notified March 22/deadline April 29/simplified)
MAY 2
-- Japan's Sumitomo Corp 8053.T to acquire a stake in
Brazilian energy and logistics company Cosan SA CSAN3.SA
(notified March 23/deadline May 2/simplified)
MAY 4
-- Brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev ABI.BR to acquire rival
SABMiller SAB.L (notified March 30/deadline May 4)
-- Industrial rubber maker Trelleborg to buy privately-owned
Czech CGS Holding (notified March 30/deadline May 4)
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)
AUG 10
-- CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd 0001.HK and Vimpelcom
VIP.O to merge their Italian mobile operations (notified Feb.
5/deadline extended to Aug. 10 from March 30 after opening of
in-depth investigation)
SUSPENDED
-- 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 suspended as the Commission waits for
the companies to provide more data)
-- 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.