BRUSSELS, May 23 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under
review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU
merger process:
APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS
-- Investment fund Apollo Management to acquire Portuguese
insurer Acoreana Seguros (approved May 20)
NEW LISTINGS
-- Inter Ikea Systems Holding, which is a unit of the IKEA
Group IKEA.UL , to acquire companies carrying out IKEA
manufacturing activities from the Ingka Group which owns IKEA
franchisees in 28 countries (notified May 11/deadline June
16/simplified)
-- European packaging maker Ardagh ARDGR.UL to acquire
some assets from beverage can makers Ball BLL.N and Rexam
REX.L (notified May 18/deadline June 22/simplified)
-- Property developer Segro SGRO.L and Canada's Public
Sector Pension Investment Board to jointly acquire Italian
logistics company Torino DCI (notified May 19/deadline June
23/simplified)
-- Innovation Network Corp Japan, Japan's Sumitomo Chemical
Co 4005.T and Sekisui Chemical Co 4204.T to set up a joint
venture (notified May 19/deadline June 23/simplified)
-- French industrial gas supplier Air Liquide AIRP.PA and
Russian heavy engineering group OMZ OMZZ.RTS to set up a joint
venture (notified May 19/deadline June 23/simplified)
EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES
None
FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE
MAY 24
-- Private equity firm Towerbrook Capital Partners to
acquire information provider Infopro Digital (notified April
13/deadline May 24)
-- Brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev ABI.BR to acquire rival
SABMiller SAB.L (notified March 30/deadline extended to May 24
from May 4 after AB Inbev offers concessions)
MAY 26
-- U.S. private equity firms Warburg Pincus WP.UL and
General Atlantic, Italian lender Unicredit CRDI.MI and Spanish
bank Santander SAN.MC to combine the asset management business
of SAM Investment Holdings Limited and Pioneer Global Asset
Management S.p.A.(notified April 15/deadline May 26)
-- HeidelbergCement HEIG.DE to acquire Italian peer
Italcementi ITAI.MI (notified April 1/deadline extended to May
26 after HeidelbergCement offered concessions)
MAY 27
-- Finnish retailer Kesko KESBV.HE to acquire building
products supplier Onninen (notified April 18/deadline May 27)
MAY 30
-- Private equity firms Bridgepoint and Summit Partners to
jointly acquire software provider Calypso Technology Inc.
(notified April 19/deadline May 30/simplified)
JUNE 1
-- Air transport services provider Norwegian and shipping
company Shiphold to jointly acquire air crew management services
company OSM Aviation (notified April 21/deadline June 1)
JUNE 2
-- Private equity firm Pillarstone, which is indirectly
controlled by KKR KKR.N , to acquire Italian engineering
services provider Sirtl (notified April 22/deadline June
2/simplified)
JUNE 3
-- Investment funds Investindustrial V L.P. and Catelli
S.r.l. to jointly acquire baby care products maker Artsana
(notified April 25/deadline June 3/simplified)
JUNE 8
-- Irish Life to buy Aviva (LON:AV) Health and 50.7 percent of shares
in GloHealth that it does not currently own. Both are providers
of health insurance in Ireland. (notified April 28/deadline June
6)
JUNE 9
-- Canada's Fairfax Financial Holdings FFH.TO and
Luxembourg-based holding company OPG, which is part of the
Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System Primary Pension
Plan, to acquire joint control of Eurolife ERB Insurance Group
Holdings S.A. (notified April 29/deadline June 9/simplified)
-- Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Arentaria Colombia BGA.CN and RCI
Banque to set up a joint venture (notified April 29/deadline
June 9/simplified)
-- U.S. food service distributor Sysco Corp (NYSE:SYY) SYY.N to
acquire peer Brakes Group (notified April 29/deadline June 9)
-- Fairfax Holdings Ltd and OPG Commercial Holdings to
acquire joint control of Eurolife ERB Insurance Group Holdings
(notified April 29/deadline June 9)
JUNE 13
-- Dutch holding company Hal Investments HLAN.AS to
acquire 20 percent stake in online retailer Coolblue (notified
on May 3/deadline June 13/simplified)
-- Auto parts maker Johnson Controls (NYSE:JCI) JCI.N to buy
Ireland-based Tyco International TYC.N . (notified on May
3/deadline June 13/simplified)
JUNE 14
-- Private equity firms 3i (LON:III) Group and Wood Creek Capital
Management LLC to jointly acquire Wireless Infrastructure Group
(notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified)
-- Hearst Communications Inc and Advance Publications to set
up a joint venture (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified)
-- France's Credit Mutuel to acquire GE Capital's factoring
and equipment financing businesses in France and Germany
(notified on May 4/deadline June 14)
JUNE 15
-- Private equity firms Apax Partners and management
services provider Accenture ACN.N to acquire joint control of
U.S. insurance software developer Duck Creek Technologies
(notified May 10/deadline June 15/simplified)
-- Malaysian state-owned investment fund Khazanah Nasional
Bhd and Japan's Mitsui & Co 8031.T to set up a joint venture
(notified May 10/deadline June 15/simplified)
-- Private equity firm KKR KKR.N to acquire indirect
control of Airbus' AIR.PA defence electronics unit (notified
May 10/deadline June 15/simplified)
-- French biochemicals company Avril and French investment
fund Societes de Projets Industriels to acquire joint control of
biochemicals producer Evertree (notified April 28/deadline June
8/simplified)
-- U.S. industrial products maker ITW ITW.N to acquire
German car parts maker ZF TRW Automotives Corp's
ZFF.UL TRWTA.UL fasteners and car components business EF&C
(notified May 10/deadline June 15)
-- U.S. payments network operator Visa Inc (NYSE:V) V.N to acquire
Visa Europe (notified May 10/deadline June 15/simplified)
JUNE 17
-- Spanish lender Caixabank CABK.MC to acquire Portugal's
Banco BPI BBPI.LS (notified May 12/deadline June
17/simplified)
-- Swiss-based chemicals company Ineos INEOSE.UL to
acquire full control of UK peer Inovyn (notified May 12/deadline
June 17/simplified)
-- Danish food company Danish Crown DACRO.UL to acquire
sole control of meat trader SPF-Denmark (notified May
12/deadline June 17/simplified)
JUNE 20
-- European packaging maker Ardagh ARDGR.UL to acquire
some facilities from beverage can makers Ball BLL.N and Rexam
REX.L (notified May 18/deadline June 20/simplified)
-- Hon Hai Precision 2317.TW , also known as Foxconn,
intends to buy a majority of Japanese electronics company Sharp
6753.T (notified on May 13/deadline June 20)
-- Dublin-based support services group DCC Holding DCC.L
to acquire retail fuel and aviation fuel provider Dansk Fuels
(notified on May 13/deadline June 20)
-- PitPoint and Primagaz Nederland to take joint control of
PitPoint LNG, a liquefied natural gas provider in the
Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany (notified on May 13/deadline
June 20/simplified)
JUNE 22
-- Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp 9432.T to acquire
Dell's DI.UL IT services unit (notified May 18/deadline June
22/simplified)
JUNE 25
-- Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board and Global
Infrastructure Management to acquire joint control of the
freight haulage company Pacific Natonal of Australia's Asciano
AIO.AX (notified on May 14/deadline June 25/simplified)
AUG 10
-- 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 Aug. 10 from July 27/concessions offered May 4)
AUG 18
-- CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd 0001.HK and Vimpelcom VIP.O
to merge their Italian mobile operations (notified Feb.
5/deadline extended to Aug 18 from Aug. 10 after the companies
asked for more time)
SEPT 20
-- U.S. rail equipment maker Wabtec Corp WAB.N to acquire
French peer Faiveley Transport SA FAIP.PA (notified April
4/deadline extended to Sept. 20 from May 12 after the European
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.