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
— Private equity firm Bridgepoint to acquire British vehicle leasing company Zenith from private equity firm HgCapital Trust Plc (approved March 22)
— Private equity firm Europa Capital, which is part of Mitsubishi Estate Co Ltd, and Danish hotel operator Rezidor, which is controlled by hotel group Carlson Holdings Inc, to jointly acquire Warsaw hotel operator PHD Polska (approved March 22)
— Qatar Airways and Italian Alisarda to jointly control Meridiana, an Italian airline (approved March 22)
— Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Technologies ThyssenKrupp to acquire the remaining 49 percent of German maritime technology company Atlas Elektronik from Airbus (approved March 22)
NEW LISTINGS
None
EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES
None
FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE
MARCH 24
— French utility EDF and French state bank Caisse des Depots to have joint control of French power grid operator RTE (notified Feb. 17/deadline March 24)
MARCH 27
— French bank Credit Agricole subsidiary and French asset manager Amundi to acquire rival Pioneer Investments from UniCredit (notified Feb. 20/deadline March 27)
— U.S. conglomerate Standard Industries to acquire German roof tile maker Braas Monier (notified Feb. 20/deadline March 27)
MARCH 29
— Buyout firm Lone Star to acquire German building materials maker Xella from private equity firm PAI Partners and funds managed by Goldman Sachs’ investment arm (notified Feb. 22/deadline March 29)
MARCH 31
— Private equity firm Advent International to acquire biometrics and security business Morpho from French aerospace group Safran (notified Feb. 24/deadline March 31)
— Britain’s Rolls-Royce to acquire the remaining 53.1 percent stake in Spanish aircraft engine and components maker Industria de Turbo Propulsores (ITP) (notified Feb. 24/deadline March 31)
— German synthetic rubber maker Lanxess AG to acquire U.S. specialty chemical company Chemtura (notified FEb. 24/deadline March 31)
APRIL 3
— Deutsche Boerse and the London Stock Exchange to merge (notified Aug. 24/deadline extended to April 3 from March 13 after the companies offered concessions)
APRIL 4
— U.S. computer and printer maker Hewlett Packard to acquire South Korean group Samsung Electronics’ printer business (notified Feb. 28/deadline April 4)
— Japan’s Mitsubishi Chemical Group and Thai state-owned oil and gas company PTT Public Company Group to set up a joint venture (notified Feb. 28/deadline April 4/simplified)
— U.S. chemicals company Dow Chemical to merge with DuPont (notified June 22/deadline extended to April 4 from March 14 after the companies offered concessions)
APRIL 7
— Engie Group French banking group BPCE to acquire a 49.9 percent stake in renewable energy companies LCS 4 and LCS (notified March 3/deadline April 7/simplified)
— Twenty-First Century Fox to acquire the rest of European pay-TV company Sky it does not own (notified March 3/deadline April 7)
APRIL 10
— French real estate asset management company Amundi Immobilier, which is part of French bank Credit Agricole , and French social protection services provider Malakoff Mederic to acquire joint control of German property developer TAS Kapstadtring (notified March 6/deadline April 10/simplified)
— UK property developer Segro and Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board to jointly acquire three logistics operations in Italy (notified March 6/deadline April 10/simplified)
— Danish container shipping company Maersk to acquire German peer Hamburg Sud (notified Feb. 20/deadline extended to April 10from March 27 after commitments submitted)
APRIL 11
— Private equity firm Partners Group to acquire European operator of clinical pathology laboratory operator Cerba Healthcare from PAI Partners (notified March 7/deadline April 11/simplified)
APRIL 12
— U.S. aircraft component maker Rockwell Collins to acquire aircraft interior maker B/E Aerospace (notified March 8/deadline April 12)
— U.S. car part supplier Lear to acquire Grupo Antolin’s automotive seating business (notified March 8/deadline April 12/simplified)
— Dutch insurer NN Group to acquire Dutch rival Group Delta Lloyd (notified Feb. 22/deadline extended to April 12 from March 29 after the Dutch competition regulator asked to examine the deal)
— Chinese state-owned company China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) to acquire Swiss pesticides and seeds group Syngenta (notified Sept. 23/deadline extended to April 12)
APRIL 18
— Megatrend European Holdings, which is part of property investment company TH Real Estate, and German insurer Allianz to jointly acquire Finnish company NRF which owns Helsinki-based Kamppi Shopping Centre (notified March 9/deadline April 18)
— German cement producers Heidelbergcement and Schwenk to jointly acquire Mexican peer Cemex’s Croatian unit (notified Sept. 5/deadline extended to April 18 from March 23)
APRIL 19
— Private equity firm 3i, Dutch asset manager APG and Danish pension fund ATP to acquire a portfolio of European infrastructure companies from EISER (notified March 10/April 19/simplified)
APRIL 21
— French utility Engie to acquire UK property developer Keepmoat Regeneration HOldings (notified March 14/deadline April 21/simplified)
APRIL 24
— French media company Bollore to acquire control of French company Vivendi (notified March 15/deadline April 24)
— France’s Group Credit Mutuel and French bank BNP Paribas to set up a joint venture (notified March 15/deadline April 24)
— Bollore Energy, which is part of French group Bollore , and Total Marketing France, which is part of French energy company Total, to set up a joint venture (notified March 15/deadline April 24/simplified)
APRIL 25
— Private equity firm CVC to acquire Polish retailer Zabka Polska (notified March 16/deadline April 25/simplified)
APRIL 26
— Investment company Ardian to acquire majority of France’s Prosol, an operator of Grand Frais grocery stores (notified March 17/deadline April 26/simplified)
— Singapore-based tech communications company Broadcom AVGO.O to acquire U.S. networking switches and software maker Brocade (notified March 17/ deadline April 26)
MAY 12
— U.S. chemicals group Riechhold and Black Diamond Capital to acquire Italian polymers maker Polynt which is owned by Italian private equity group Investindustrial (notified March 17/deadline May 12/commitments offered March 17)
SUSPENDED
— Azerbaijan’s state energy company SOCAR 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. (Reporting by Waverly Colville)
