EU mergers and takeovers (Feb 8)

Feb 8, 2013
Source:Reuters

Feb 8 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process:

APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS

None

NEW LISTINGS

-- German automotive company Daimler to acquire sole ownership of vehicle importer Mercedes-Benz Austria, Mercedes-Benz financial services Austria, and Mercedes-Benz Hungary. (notified Feb. 6/deadline March 13)

EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES

None

FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE

FEB 11

-- French financial group PAI Partners to take control of French industrial supplier Industrial Parts Holding (IPH)(notified Jan. 7/deadline Feb. 11)

FEB 18

-- Japanese camera maker Canon to acquire Belgian document recognition company Iris (notified Jan. 14/deadline Feb. 18)

FEB 20

-- Private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice to acquire British consumer goods retailer B&M (notified Jan. 16/deadline Feb. 20/simplified)

FEB 22

-- Belgian state-owned investment company SFPI to acquire a controlling stake in Franco-Belgian bank Dexia (notified Jan. 18/deadline Feb. 22)

-- The Turkish subsidiary of German power utility E.ON to buy a 50 percent stake in Turkish power company Enerijsa, which will give it joint control with Turkey's Haci Omer Sabanci Holdings group (notified Jan. 18/deadline Feb. 22/simplified)

-- Japanese engineering company IHI Corp to buy the remaining 49 percent of German car turbo charger maker IHI Charging Systems International it does not own from German car maker Daimler AG (notified Jan. 18/deadline Feb. 22/simplified)

-- Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners to buy data information provider Cerved Holding (notified Jan. 18/deadline Feb. 22/simplified)

FEB 25

-- Private equity firm Triton to acquire Finnish grocery chain Suomen Lahikauppa from IK Investment Partners (notified Jan. 21/deadline Feb. 25)

MARCH 4

-- Drugmakers Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca to acquire joint control of AmylinPharmaceuticals (notified Jan. 28/deadline March 4/simplified)

-- Norwegian group Orkla to buy family-controlled foods group Rieber & Soen (notified Jan. 28/deadline March 4)

MARCH 5

-- U.S. carmaker General Motors to buy some operations belonging to car financing services provider Ally Financial (notified Jan. 29/deadline March 5/simplified)

MARCH 6

-- Irish aircraft leasing company Avolon and U.S. bank Wells Fargo to set up a joint venture to lease airplanes (notified Jan. 30/deadline March 6/simplified)

-- Ryanair to acquire Aer Lingus (notified July 24/deadline extended for the fourth time to March 6 from Feb. 27 after Ryanair offered more commitments)

MARCH 7

-- Swiss-based trader Mercuria Energy and Chinese energy group Sinopec to acquire joint control of tank firm Vesta Terminals (notified Jan. 31/deadline March 7/simplified)

-- German insurer Allianz and German car maker Volkswagen's insurance unit VW Financial Services to set up a joint venture (notified Jan. 31/deadline March 7)

MARCH 8

-- Private equity funds Bregal Fund III and Quadriga Capital to acquire GErman jewellery distributor LR Global Holding GmbH (notified Feb. 1/deadline March 8/simplified)

-- Russian oil major Rosneft to buy half of Anglo-Russian oil firm TNK-BP from British oil company BP (notified Feb. 1/deadline March 8)

-- Austrian investment group B&C Industrieholding GmbH to acquire Austrian aluminium product producer AMAG Austria Metall (notified Feb. 1/deadline March 8/simplified)

-- Investment fund EQT Infrastructure II to take sole control of energy producer E.ON Energy, which is indirectly owned by German utility E.ON (notified Feb. 1/deadline March 8/simplified)

MARCH 12

-- U.S. contract manufacturer Flextronics International to buy some of Google-owned Motorola Mobility's manufacturing operations in China and Brazil (notified Feb. 5/deadline March 12)

-- Investment bank Goldman Sachs and private investment firm TPG Lundy to acquire joint control of British publisher Romanes Media Group (notified Feb. 5/deadline March 12)

-- Investment bank Goldman Sachs and private investment firm TPG Lundy to acquire British print management services company Mavisbank (notified Feb. 5/deadline March 12)

-- Investment bank Goldman Sachs and private investment firm TPG Lundy to acquire British household appliances distributor Britannia Living Group (notified Feb. 5/deadline March 12)

-- Japanese government fund Innovation Network Corp of Japan to buy Japanese chipmaker Renesas Electronics Corp (notified Feb. 5/deadline March 12/simplified)

MARCH 13

-- German automotive company Daimler to acquire sole ownership of vehicle importer Mercedes-Benz Austria, Mercedes-Benz financial services Austria, and Mercedes-Benz Hungary. (notified Feb. 6/deadline March 13)

MAY 30

-- U.S. communications company Syniverse Technologies to buy Luxembourg-based communications services company Mach (notified Nov. 16/deadline extended for the second time to May 30 from May 15 after the companies asked for more time)

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)