EU mergers and takeovers (Nov 28)
28/11/2013 12:40
BRUSSELS, Nov 28 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process: APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS -- Japan's Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd 2587.T to buy British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline Plc's GSK.L Lucozade and Ribena brands (approved Nov. 27) -- Private equity firm Apax Partners APAX.UL to acquire Italian motor cars trader Rhiag-Inter Auto Parts Italia S.p.A (approved Nov. 27) NEW LISTINGS -- Japanese technology company NTT Data Corp 3850.T to acquire consultancy Everis Participaciones (notified Nov. 27/deadline Jan. 13/simplified) EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES -- Airport ground and cargo services handler Swissport, which is owned by private equity company PAI Partners, to acquire Servisair from French company Derichebourg SA DBG.PA (notified Oct. 29/deadline extended to Dec. 18 from Dec. 4 after Swissport offered concessions) FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE NOV 29 -- French industrial group Schneider Electric SCHN.PA to buy British engineer Invensys ISYS.L (notified Oct 24/deadline Nov. 29) DEC 2 -- Private equity group Blackstone BX.N and investment bank Goldman Sachs GS.N to acquire joint control of British insurer Rothesay Life which is now solely owned by Goldman Sachs (notified Oct. 25/deadline Dec. 2) DEC 3 -- British private equity firm EQT VI to buy Finnish healthcare services company Terveystalo Healthcare BRICAT.UL (notified Oct. 28/deadline Dec. 3) -- Private equity investors Altor Funds and TryghedsGruppen to merge their Nordic fitness companies Elixia Holding III AS and Health & Fitness Nordic AB (notified Oct. 28/deadline Dec. 3) DEC 4 -- Microsoft MSFT.O to acquire Nokia's NOK1V.HE phone business (notified Oct. 29/deadline Dec. 4) DEC 5 -- Russian gas company Gazprom GAZP.MM and German energy company Wintershall Holding GmbH WINT.UL to swap certain gas production assets (notified Oct. 30/deadline Dec. 5) -- Japanese parcel services provider Nippon Express Co Ltd 9062.T to buy 67 percent of Panasonic Logistics which is owned by Japanese electronics group Panasonic Corp 6752.T (notified oct. 30/deadline Dec. 5/simplified) DEC 6 -- French energy company GDF Suez GSZ.PA to buy British industrial company Balfour Beatty plc's BALF.L British facilities management unit (notified Oct. 31/deadline Dec. 6/simplified) DEC 9 -- Fondo Strategico Italiano to acquire sole control of Ansaldo Energia from Finmeccanica S.p.A. SIFI.MI and First Reserve Power Limited, a subsidiary of First Reserve Fund XII L.P. (notified Nov. 4/deadline Dec. 9/simplified) -- Fishing product supplier Bolton Group BV to acquire joint control of two companies and integrate them with fish trader Tri Marine (notified Nov. 4/deadline Dec. 9) -- Private equity firm the Triton group to acquire pneumatic produt maker Bosch Rexroth Pneumatics Holding ROBG.UL (notified Nov. 4/deadline Dec. 9/simplified) DEC 10 -- U.S. medical device maker Medtronic Inc MDT.N and Russian asset management company the Renova Group to set up a joint venture (notified Nov. 5/deadline Dec. 10/simplified) DEC 11 -- German refrigeration compressor maker Secop GmbH, owned by German private equity company Aurelius, to acquire Austrian industrial company ACC Austria GmbH (notified Nov. 6/deadline Dec. 11) DEC 12 -- German insurer Allianz ALVG.DE and Spain's Banco Popular Espanol POP.MC to acquire joint control of joint venture AP Vida (notified Nov. 7/deadline Dec. 12/simplified) -- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 7011.T and Hitachi Ltd 6501.T to integrate their thermal power generation systems (notified Nov. 7/deadline Dec. 12/simplified) DEC 13 - Dutch storage firm Vopak VOPA.AS and and Swedish gas grid operator Swedegas to acquire joint control of gas distribution terminal operator GO4LNG (notified Nov. 8/deadline Dec. 13/simplified) -- German aluminium firm Trimet Aluminium AG and French utility EDF EDF.PA to take control of two aluminium plants in France from Rio Tinto Alcan Group RIO.AX (notified Nov. 8/deadline Dec. 13) DEC 19 -- Private equity firm New Mountain Capital to acquire a fund from management services provider Alexander Mann Solutions (notified Nov. 14/deadline Dec. 19/simplified) -- U.S. property consultancy CBRE Group Inc CBG.N to buy British company Norland Holdings Ltd (notified Nov. 14/deadline Dec. 19/simplified) -- China National Petroleum Corp to acquire a stake in a Russian Arctic project called the Yamal LNG project which is jointly controlled by Russia's Novatek NVTK.MM and France's Total TOTF.PA (notified Nov. 14/deadline Dec. 19/simplified) DEC 20 -- Spanish telecoms provider Telefonica TEF.MC to buy Dutch peer KPN's KPN.AS German unit (notified Oct. X/deadline extended to Dec. 20 from Dec. 6 after Germany's antitrust authority asked to review the deal) -- Canadian real estate developer Brookfield Property BPY_u.TO and investment firm Starwood Capital Group Global to acquire joint control of 13 hotels in Germany (notified Nov. 15/deadline Dec. 20/simplified) -- Private equity firms KKR and Arle Capital to acquire joint control of mattress maker Hilding Anders Midco AB (notified Nov. 15/deadline Dec. 20/simplified) -- Austevoll Seafood ASA and investment company Kvefi, which is controlled by private investment firm Kverva AS, to set up a joint venture (notified Nov. 15/deadline Dec. 20) DEC 23 -- French insurer Axa AXAF.PA and Norway's Norges Bank to acquire joint control of SZ Tower in Munich, Germany (notified Nov. 18/deadline Dec. 23/simplified) -- German building supplies wholesaler Cordes & Graefe to acquire French construction supplier Pompac (notified Nov. 18/deadline Dec. 23) -- Danish pension fund PensionDanmark Holding to acquire a 49 percent stake in gas pipeline operator Noordgastransport from Abu Dhabi-based energy company TAQA TAQA.AD , giving it joint control with French utility GDF Suez GSZ.PA (notified Nov. 18/deadline Dec. 23/simplified) -- Private equity firms ARX CEE III LP and Darby Converging Europe Fund III to jointly acquire Gramex 2000 Kereskedelmi Korlatolt Felelôssegü Tarsasag and G.F. Investment Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag which own beverage producers and distributors (notified Nov. 18/deadline Dec. 23/simplified) -- Private equity firms Bridgepoint Adviers Group Ltd and Orlando Italy Management to acquire joint control of Italian beauty products distributor La Gardenia Beauty, which is now solely controlled by Orlando Italy Management (notified Nov. 18/deadline Dec. 23/simplified) -- Japanese building products company Lixil Group 5938.T and the Development Bank of Japan to acquire an 87.5 percent stake in German bathroom fittings company Grohe Group (notified Nov. 18/deadline Dec. 23/simplified) -- Private equity firm TPG and U.S. car parts and home products retailer Servco Pacific Inc to buy Fender Musical Instrument (notified Nov. 18/deadline Dec. 23/simplified) -- Bulgarian flag carrier Bulgaria Airways Group EAD to acquire joint control of airport ground services handler Swissport Bulgaria, which is now solely owned by airport ground services handler Swissport (notified Nov. 18/deadline Dec. 23/simplifid) -- Spain industrial group Corporacion Gestamp and Spanish bank Banco Santander SAN.MC to set up a joint venture (notified Nov. 18/deadline Dec. 23/simplified) JAN 3 -- Germany industrial companies Rheinmetall RHMG.DE and Ferrostaal Industrieanlagen GmbH to set up two joint ventures (notified Nov. 19/deadline Jan. 3/simplified) -- Venetos Holding AG, which is a subsidiary of Russian investment vehicle Renova Industries, to acquire sole control of Swiss steelmaker Schmolz+Bickenbach AG STLN.S (notified Nov. 19/deadline Jan. 3) JAN 8 -- Italian energy group ENI ENI.MI to acquire British oil and gas operator Liverpool Bay from BHP Billiton Petroleum Great Britain Ltd BLT.L BHP.AX (notified Nov. 22/deadline Jan. 8/simplified) -- Private equity firm Apollo to acquire debt recovery and real estate services company Altamira from Spanish bank Banco Santander SAN.MC (notified Nov. 22/deadline Jan. 8/simplified) JAN 9 -- U.S. advertising company Omnicom Group Inc OMC.N and French peer Publicis Groupe SA PUBP.PA to merge (notified Nov. 25/deadline Jan. 9) MARCH 10 -- Swiss cement maker Holcim HOLN.VX to buy some of Mexican peer Cemex's assets in Germany CMXCPO.MX CX.N (notified Sept. 3/dateline extended to March 10 from Oct. 22 after the Commission opened an in-depth investigation into the deal) MARCH 21 -- Switzerland-based INEOS and Belgian chemicals company Solvay SOLB.BR to form a joint venture (notified Sept. 16/deadline extended for the second time to March 21 from Nov. 5 after the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation) MARCH 24 -- Hutchison 3G UK 0013.HK to acquire Telefonica Ireland, a unit of Spanish telecoms provider Telefonica TEF.MC (notified Oct. 1/deadline extended to March 24 from Nov. 6 after the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation) 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. (Editing by Foo Yun Chee) ((brussels.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com)(+32-2-287-6830)) Keywords: EU MERGERS/TAKEOVERS