BRUSSELS, March 23 (Reuters) - The following are mergers
under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the
EU merger process:
APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS
-- Statoil Fuel and Retail, which operates in Denmark under
the Statoil brand and is controlled by Canadian company
Alimentation Couche-Tard ATDb.TO , to acquire Shell's RDSa.L
Danish retail and wholesale fuels business (approved March 23)
-- Private equity firms Apax Partners and Neuberger Berman
Acquisition LLC to jointly acquire Italian tech services
provider Engineering Ingegneria Informatica SPA (approved March
23)
-- 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 (approved March 22)
-- U.S. private equity firms Warburg Pincus WP.UL and
General Atlantic to jointly acquire U.S. asset management
company Pioneer U.S. (approved March 22)
NEW LISTINGS
-- 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)
-- 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)
EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES
None
FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE
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 private 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
-- 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. 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 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)
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 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
-- 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.