BRUSSELS, Sept 20 (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 group Triton to take joint control over Dutch mechanical and electrical engineering services provider Unica Groep (approved Sept. 19)
— Swedish real estate company Fastighets AB Balder to buy shares in Serena Properties, jointly owned by Finnish pension fund Varma (approved Sept. 19)
— VCI ventures, a subsidiary of VW credit to acquire joint control of AutoGravity with DA Investments, subsidiary of Daimler (approved Sept. 19)
— German car parts maker Aunde Achter & Ebels GmbH and Bader GmbH and Co to set up a joint venture (approved Sept. 18)
— China Investment Corporation to acquire European warehouse firm Logicor (approved Sept. 18)
NEW LISTINGS
— French carmaker Renault to acquire a 25 percent stake in electric car charging services Jedlix (notified Sept. 18/deadline Oct. 23/simplified)
— U.S. life sciences company Avantor to acquire U.S. lab supplies company VWR (notified Sept. 15/deadline Oct. 20)
— U.S. fashion group Michael Kors to acquire British shoemaker Jimmy Choo (notified Sept. 15/deadline Oct. 20/simplified)
EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES
— German industrial group Bayer to acquire U.S. seeds company Monsanto (notified June 30/deadline extended to Jan. 22 from Jan. 8 after the companies asked for more time)
FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE
SEPT 26
— Italian eyewear maker Luxottica and French lens manufacturer Essilor to merge (notified Aug. 22/deadline Sept. 26)
SEPT 29
— Irish agribusiness company ABP Food Group to acquire an additional stake in Linden Foods Limited, active in the slaughtering and processing of beef and ovine animals (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29)
— 3M to buy Johnson Controls’ safety gear unit Scott Safety for $2 billion (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29)
— Swiss asset manager Partners Group to buy UK software firm Civica for 1 billion pounds ($1.29 billion) (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29/simplified)
OCT 2
— Private equity firm Bridgepoint to acquire UK property developer Miller Homes (notified Aug. 28/deadline Oct. 2/simplified)
— Hong Kong’s CK Infrastructure Holdings Ltd and Cheung Kong Property Holdings Ltd to indirectly acquire joint control of Luxembourg-based heat and water sub-metering company the ista group (notified Aug. 28/deadline Oct. 2/simplified)
OCT 3
— German recycling company Remondis to acquireGermany’s TSR Recyling (notified Aug. 29/deadline Oct. 3/simplified)
OCT 4
— Italian baby care products provider Artsana to acquire sole control of baby products retailer Italian peer Prenatal Retail Group, which it now jointly controls with Giochi Preziosi (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)
— Japanese car parts maker Denso to acquire Japanese peer Fujitsu Ten (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)
— Private equity firm KKR and U.S. pharmaceutical retailer Walgreens Boots Alliance to acquire indirectly joint control of U.S. pharmaceutical services provider PharMerica (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)
— U.S. medical equipment supplier Becton Dickinson and Co to acquire U.S. peer C R Bard Inc (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4)
OCT 5
— Australian investment firm IFM Investors Pty Ltd and Singapore shipping terminal operator PSA International Pte Ltd to jointly acquire Turkish terminal operator Mersin (notified Aug. 31/deadline Oct. 5/simplified)
OCT 6
— Japanese healthcare company Konica Minolta to acquire U.S. diagnostics company Ambry Genetics (notified Sept. 1/deadline Oct. 6/simplified)
OCT 11
— French banks Societe Generale and BNP Paribas to acquire joint control of German office building owner Horizon Development GmbH (notified Sept. 6/deadline Oct. 11/simplified)
OCT 12
— Dutch property developer Unibail Rodamco and German real estate fund Commerz Real Investmentgeseelschaft to jointly acquire Czech shopping centre owner CGI Metropole (notified Sept. 7/deadline Oct. 12/simplified)
OCT 13
— Bermuda-headquartered reinsurer Axis Capital Holdings Ltd to acquire UK insurer Novae (notified Sept 13/deadline Oct 18/simplified)
— Mirova Core Infrastructure, COMSA and Dutch fund manager PGGM to acquire joint control of Mircom Concesiones de Infraestructuras (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13/simplified)
— Italian infrastructure group Atlantia to acquire Spanish rival Abertis (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13)
— Anglo-Dutch oil group Royal Dutch Shell to acquire indirect joint control of natural gas producer Crestwood Permian Basin LLC which is now solely controlled by Crestwood Permian Basin Holdings (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13/simplified)
— Private equity firms Blackstone, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company and Cambourne Life Investment Pte Ltd to acquire joint control of UK insurer Rothesay Ho1dCo UK Ltd (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13/simplified)
OCT 16
— Swiss food company Nestle to acquire sole control of Beverage Partners Worldwide, a joint venture between Nestle and the Coca-Cola Co (notified Oct. 11/deadline Oct. 16)
— Private equity firm Lone Star to acquire Spanish insulation materials maker Ursa Insulation (notified Sept. 11/deadline Oct. 16/simplified)
OCT 17
— U.S. specialty material company Celanese and private equity firm Blackstone to combine their cellulose acetate tow units under a new joint venture (notified Sept. 9/deadline Oct. 17)
— Private equity firm Advent to acquire communications services company Williams Lea (notified Sept. 12/deadline Oct. 17/simplified)
OCT 18
— Bermuda-headquartered reinsurer Axis Capital Holdings Ltd to acquire UK insurer Novae (notified Sept. 13/deadline Oct. 18/simplified)
— German insurer Allianz to acquire UK financial services group Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society Ltd’s general insurance businesses (notified Sept. 13/deadline Oct. 18/simplified)
OCT 20
— U.S. company AES Corp and German conglomerate Siemens to acquire joint control of a joint venture (notified Sept. 15/deadline Oct. 20/simplified)
OCT 26
— French car parts maker Valeo to acquire German clutch maker FTE Automotive(notified Sept. 7/deadline Oct. 26/commitments submitted Sept. 7)
DEADLINE SUSPENDED
— U.S. smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm to acquire Dutch company NXP Semiconductors NV (notified April 28/deadline suspended from Aug. 17)
— German brake systems maker Knorr-Bremse to acquire Swedish peer Haldex (notified June 1/deadline suspended on Aug. 22)
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 Foo Yun Chee)
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