EU mergers and takeovers (Feb 12)
BRUSSELS, Feb 12 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process:
APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS
-- U.S (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) . buyout firm Carlyle Group to acquire Italian customer services group Comdata (approved Feb. 11)
NEW LISTINGS
-- British plastic packaging company RPC Group (Other OTC: RPCGF - news) to acquire French bottle-top maker Global Closure Systems (notified Feb. 11/deadline March 17/simplified)
EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES
None
FIRST (Other OTC: FSTC - news) -STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE
FEB 12
-- U.S. video game maker Activision Blizzard (NasdaqGS: ATVI - news) to acquire Dublin-based "Candy Crush Saga" creator King Digital Entertainment (notified on Jan. 8/deadline Feb. 12)
FEB 16
-- Beauty products company Coty (NYSE: COTY - news) to acquire 43 brands from Procter & Gamble (notified Jan. 12/deadline Feb. 16)
FEB 18
-- McKesson to acquire certain businesses, notably pharmaceutical wholesaling in UK and Ireland (Other OTC: IRLD - news) , from UDG Healthcare (notified Jan. 14/deadline Feb. 18)
FEB 23
-- Sanofi (NasdaqGM: GCVRZ - news) and Google to jointly set up a joint venture for diabetes treatment (notified Jan. 19/deadline Feb. 23)
FEB 24
-- Private equity firm PAI Partners to acquire French hotel operator B&B Hotels (notified Jan. 20/deadline Feb. 24/simplified)
-- Sphinx Investment Pte Ltd and CVC Capital Partners [CVC (Taiwan OTC: 4744.TWO - news) .UL ]to jointly acquire British motor services company RAC (Taiwan OTC: 2237.TWO - news) (notified Jan. 20/deadline Feb. 24/simplified)
FEB 25
-- Dental supply maker DENTSPLY to merge with Sirona Dental Systems (NasdaqGS: SIRO - news) (notified Jan.7/deadline extended to Feb. 25 from Feb. 11 after the companies submitted concessions)
-- Israeli drugmaker Teva to acquire U.S. peer Allergan (NYSE: AGN - news) 's generics drugs business (notified Jan. 21/deadline Feb. 25)
FEB 26
-- Airbus Safran Launchers, a 50/50 joint venture between Airbus and Safran (Swiss: SAF.SW - news) , to acquire sole control of satellite group Arianespace (notified on Jan. 8/deadline extended to Feb. 26 from Feb. 12 after Airbus Safran Launchers offered concessions)
-- British supermarket J Sainsbury, Dansk Supermarket A/S and Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc to acquire a grocery store (notified Jan. 22/deadline Feb. 26/simplified)
-- German food company Tonnies to acquire Danish peer Tican (notified Jan. 22/deadline Feb. 26)
FEB 29
-- U.S. computer maker Dell Inc to acquire data storage company EMC Corp (notified Jan. 25/deadline Feb. 29)
MARCH 1
-- Germany's Allianz SE (Other OTC: ALIZF - news) plans to acquire a 50 percent stake in SES Shopping Center FP 1 GmbH and so take joint control of the Fischapark shopping centre in Wiener Neustadt, Austria (notified on Jan. 26/deadline March 1/simplified)
MARCH 2
-- Italian insurer HDI Assicurazioni, which is a unit of German insurer Talanx (LSE: 0QA8.L - news) , to acquire Italian life insurer CBA Vita, its subsidiary Sella Life and the remaining 49 percent stake in InChiaro Assicurazioni SpA(notified Jan. 27/deadline March 2/simplified)
MARCH 3
-- U.S. asset manager Blackstone (NYSE: BX - news) to acquire indirect sole control over Norwegian publishing and paper company Norske Skog (notified Jan. 28/deadline March 3/simplified)
MARCH 4
-- Macquarie Capital and Canadian real estate investor Ivanhoe to jointly acquire real estate developers Logos Australia and Logos China (notified Jan. 29/deadline March 4/simplified)
-- U.S. engineering and construction group Fluor Corp to acquire Dutch rival Stork (notified Jan. 29/deadline March 4/simplified)
MARCH 7
-- Private equity firm American Securities to acquire U.S. industrial product company Blount International (NYSE: BLT - news) (notified Feb. 1/deadline March 7/simplified)
-- Private equity fund Lone Star Fund to acquire food and beverage vending machine maker N&W Global Vending (notified Feb. 1/deadline March 7/simplified)
-- Coop subsidiary Bell AG to acquire poultry processing company HL Verwaltung (notified Feb 1/deadline March 7/simplified)
MARCH 8
-- Celulosa Arauco y Constitucion S.A. (Arauco) and Sonae Industria SGPS, SA (Sonae Industria) to acquire indirect joint control of wood products company Tableros de Fibras S.A. (Tafisa) (notified Feb 2/deadline March 8/simplified)
MARCH 9
-- German agricultural services company Hauptgenossenschaft Nord to buy sector peer Roth Agrarhandel (notified on Feb. 3/deadline March 9/simplified)
MARCH 10
-- Private equity firm KKR to acquire sole control of French IT services provider Webhelp (notified on Feb. 4/deadline March 10/simplified)
-- Statoil Fuel and Retail to acquire fuels business of Dansk Fuels (notified on Feb. 4/deadline March 10)
-- EDF (Paris: FR0010242511 - news) and China General Nuclear Power Corp forms NNB GenCo consortium for nuclear power plant construction (notified on Feb. 4/deadline March 10)
-- LVMH is combining its private equity and real estate units with U.S. private equity firm Catterton to form L Catterton (notified on Feb. 4/deadline March 10/simplified)
MARCH 11
-- Nordic Capital to acquire Scandinavian fruits and vegetables distributor Greendeli Investment Holding (notified Feb. 5/deadline March 11/simplified)
-- CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd and Vimpelcom to merge their Italian mobile operations (notified Feb. 5/deadline March 11)
MARCH 15
-- U.S. conglomerate United Technologies Corp to acquire Italian water heating appliances maker Riello Group (notified Feb. 9/deadline March 15/simplified)
-- China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) to acquire German industrial machinery maker KraussMaffei Group (notified Feb. 9/deadline March 15)
MARCH 16
-- French company Avril Pole Animal and German meat product processor Tonnies International Holding to set up a joint venture (notified Feb. 10/deadline March 16/simplified)
-- Hutchison Whampoa to acquire Telefonica (Amsterdam: TA6.AS - news) 's O2 UK subsidiary (notified Sept. 11/deadline extended for the fifth time to April 22 from April 18)
JUNE 23
-- Oilfield services provider Halliburton (Hanover: HAL.HA - news) to buy rival Baker Hughes in a stock and cash transaction (notified Nov. 27/deadline extended to June 23 from May 26)
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 (HKSE: 3366-OL.HK - news) . 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. (Compiled by Brussels newsroom)