BRUSSELS, April 24 (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:
-- Cyprus-based Bithell Holdings Ltd, belonging to Polish
media and telecommunications group Grupa Polsat, and Polish
company Thomson Technicolor Polska Sp, belonging to the French
Thomson Group <TMS.PA>, to acquire joint control of Polish
digital signage company PRN Polska Sp (notified April
17/deadline May 27/simplified)
-- A subsidiary of energy group CEZ <> and Czech
investment advisory firm JTIA acquire joint control of Dutch
company MIBRAG B.V. and its wholly owned German lignite mining
subsidiary Mitteldeutsche Braunkohlengesellschaft mbH, currently
controlled jointly by independent power producer NRG Energy Inc
<NRG.N> and engineering and construction firm URS Corp <URS.N>,
both of the U.S. (notified April 21/deadline May 29/simplified)
EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES:
None
FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE:
APRIL 30
-- U.S. automaker General Motors <GM.N> to acquire the
steering business of Delphi Corp, a maker of automotive
components (notified March 23/deadline April 30)
MAY 7
-- Austrian automotive supplier Magna Presstec AG, a
subsidiary of Magna International INC <MGa.TO>, to acquire Czech
peer Cadance Innovation s.r.o (notified March 27/deadline May 7)
MAY 11
-- UK private equity investment firm Bridgepoint Capital
Group Ltd [] to buy fund manager Hermes Private Equity
Directs Ltd (notified March 31/deadline May 11/simplified)
-- Abu Dhabi state-owned International Petroleum Investment
Co (IPIC) to buy Canada's NOVA Chemicals <NCX.TO> (notified
March 31/deadline May 11/simplified)
-- Italian shipbuilding company Fincantieri-Cantieri Navali
Italiani S.p.A and Italian power and automation technologies
group ABB S.p.A form joint venture to develop and sell marine
automation systems (notified March 31/deadline May 11)
MAY 14
-- Swiss drugs industry supplier Lonza Group Ltd <LONN.VX>
and Israeli generic drugs maker Teva Pharmaceuticals <TEVA.TA>
to form a worldwide joint venture to produce biosimilar products
(notified April 4/deadline May 14)
-- Dutch ForFarmers, involved in the agricultural sector and
controlled by Dutch Cooperatie FromFarmers U.A., to buy Cefetra
BV, a Dutch supplier of raw materials to feed, food and fuel
industries (notified April 3/deadline May 14)
-- German airline Lufthansa AG <LHAG.DE> to take sole
control of UK low-cost carrier British Midland []
(notified April 3/deadline May 14)
MAY 18
-- RWE Innogy GmbH, a renewable energy unit of German
utility RWE <RWEG.DE>, and Voith Hydro Holding GmbH & Co, a
joint venture founded by Voith AG and Siemens AG <SIEGn.DE>,
acquire control of a new joint venture in tidal energy
extraction technology (notified April 7/deadline May
18/simplified)
MAY 19
-- France's GDF Suez Energy Services SA, controlled by the
GDF Suez Group <GSZ.PA>, to acquire Italian energy services firm
Elyo Italia Srl (notified April 8/deadline May 19/simplified)
-- Air France-KLM <AIRF.PA> and Morocco's Groupe Royal Air
Maroc [] to acquire joint control of Moroccan aircraft
maintenance company Aerotechnic Industries SA, until now
controlled by Royal Air Maroc (notified April 8/deadline May
19/simplified)
MAY 20
-- German state-controlled Financial Market Stabilization
Fund, or SoFFin, to acquire German lender Hypo Real Estate
<HRXG.DE> by way of public bid announced on April 9 (notified
April 14/deadline May 20/simplified)
MAY 26
-- Hungarian oil company MOL <MOLB.BU> to take sole control
of Croatian oil firm INA Industrija Nafte d.d. <INA.ZA>,
currently controlled jointly by MOL and the Croatian government
(notified April 16/deadline May 26/simplified)
MAY 27
-- U.S. agricultural products company Archer Daniels Midland
<ADM.N> to acquire three German chocolate companies collectively
referred to as Schokinag (notified April 17/deadline May 27)
-- German carbon-based products manufacturer SGL Carbon
<SGCG.DE> and Italian brake maker Brembo <BRBI.MI> to acquire
joint control of Italian Brembo Ceramic Brake Systems (notified
April 17/deadline May 27)
SECOND-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE
JUNE 10
-- German airline Lufthansa AG <LHAG.DE> to acquire Belgian
air transport company SN Airholding SA/NV, which controls
Brussels Airlines (notified Nov. 26/deadline Jan. 12/extended on
Jan. 6/new deadline Jan. 26/in-depth probe opened Jan.
27/deadline June 10)
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 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.
