EU mergers and takeovers (Oct 10)

BRUSSELS, Oct (KOSDAQ: 039200.KQ - news) 10 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process:

APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS

-- Spanish airports operator Aena and the private equity arm of French insurance group Axa (Paris: FR0000120628 - news) to buy a stake in London's Luton airport from Spanish infrastructure company Abertis (approved Oct. 10)

-- Dutch steel product maker and machinery equipment distributor Koninklijke Reesink to buy Pon Holdings B.V.'s European material handling businesses (approved Oct. 2)

NEW LISTINGS

None

EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES

None

FIRST (Other OTC: FSTC - news) -STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE

OCT 11

-- French bank BNP Paribas Fortis and Belgian telecoms operator Belgacom (Other OTC: BGAOF - news) to set up a joint venture for a Belgian mobile wallet (notified Sept. 6/deadline Oct. 11)

OCT 21

-- BP Europa, which is a unit of British energy group BP plc (LSE: BP.L - news) , to buy a joint stake in Polish fuel supplier Lotos Tank from Polish oil company Grupa Lotos (notified Sept. 16/deadline Oct. 21/simplified)

-- Switzerland-based INEOS and Belgian chemicals company Solvay (Other OTC: SVYZY - news) to form a joint venture (notified Sept. 16/deadline Oct. 21)

-- Private equity (Swiss: PEHN.SW - news) firm CVC (Taiwan OTC: 4744.TWO - news) to acquire full control of domestic appliances repairer Domestic & General Group Holdings (notified Sept. 16/deadline Oct. 21/simplified)

OCT 22

-- Swiss cement maker Holcim (Other OTC: HCMLY - news) to exchange some assets and combine others with Mexican peer Cemex (notified Sept. 3/deadline extended to Oct. 22 from Oct. 8 after a national regulator asked for the case to be referred to it)

-- Private equity firm Cinven to buy German life insurer Heidelberger Leben from British lender Lloyds Banking Group (LSE: LLOY.L - news) (notified Sept. 17/deadline Oct. 22/simplified)

-- Dutch pension group PGGM to acquire control of gas distributor Northern Offshore Upstream Gas Pipeline System, which is jointly controlled by French gas and power group GDF Suez and EBN B.V. (notified Sept. 17/deadline Oct. 22/simplified)

OCT 24

-- Private equity firm Triton to buy telecoms and energy infrastructure builder Alpine Energie from Spanish construction group FCC (Madrid: FCC.MC - news) (notified Sept. 19/deadline Oct. 24/simplified)

OCT 25

-- Japanese logistics company Nippon Express Co Ltd to buy a 49 percent stake in Japanese electronics company NEC Corp subsidiary NEC Logistics (notified Sept. 20/deadline Oct. 25/simplified)

-- Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners to buy some of Campbell Soup Co's brands (notified Sept. 20/deadline Oct. 25)

OCT 29

-- Dutch dredger Boskalis and investment company Reggeborgh to acquire joint control of subsea power cables supplier Visser & Smit Marine Contracting B.V. which is now solely controlled by Reggeborgh (notified Sept. 24/deadliine Oct. 29)

OCT 30

-- U.S. group Koch Industries to acquire electronic components maker Molex (notified Sept. 25/deadline Oct. 30/simplified)

NOV 4

-- Private investment firm TPG and CaixaBank S.A. to set up a property joint venture by acquiring the business of CaixaBank unit Servihabitat (notified Sept. 27/deadline Nov. 4/simplified)

-- Piper Verlag GmbH to acquire a 50 percent stake in the joint venture G+J RBA GmbH & Co which is now solely owned by German publisher Gruner + Jahr AG & Co (notified Sept. 27/deadline Nov. 4/simplified)

NOV 5

-- British telecoms operator Vodafone (LSE: VOD.L - news) to buy a minority stake in Vodafone Omnitel N.V. from U.S. peer Verizon Communications Inc (notified Sept. 30/deadline Nov. 5/simplified)

NOV 6

-- South African furniture retailer Steinhoff International (Other OTC: SNHFY - news) Holdings to acquire electrical appliances retailer Rudolf Leiner Gesellschaft m.b.H. and LKM Beteiligungsgesellschaft m.b.H. (notified Oct. 1/deadline Nov. 6/simplified)

-- Hutchison 3G UK to acquire Telefonica Ireland, a unit of Spanish telecoms provider Telefonica (notified Oct. 1/deadline Nov. 6)

NOV 12

-- U.S. maker of scientific and laboratory equipment Thermo Fisher Scientific to buy genetic testing equipment maker Life Technologies (notified Oct. 7/deadline Nov. 12)

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.