BRUSSELS, Oct 7 (Reuters) - The following are planned
mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief
guide to the EU merger process:
APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS:
-- Czech energy firm International Power Opatovice a.s.,
controlled by Britain's International Power Plc <IPR.L>; the
City of Prague; and German energy group EnBW <EBKG.DE>, which is
jointly controlled by French and German energy firms Electricite
de France <EDF.PA> and Zweckverband Oberschwaebische
Elektrizitaetswerke, take joint control of Czech energy provider
Prazska Teplarenska a.s. (approved Oct. 7)
NEW LISTINGS:
None
EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES:
None
FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE:
OCT 9
-- German semiconductor maker Infineon Technologies AG
<IFXGn.DE> and South Korean counterpart LS Industrial System
<010120.KS> Co Ltd take joint control of LS Power Semitech Co
Ltd, a new joint venture to make and market molded intelligent
power modules used in consumer applications (notified Sept.
4/deadline Oct. 9/simplified)
-- British investment fund RREEF Pan-European Infrastructure
Fund LP, managed by Germany's Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE>; energy
group BP Plc <BP.L>; Spanish diversified company Ente Vasco De
La Energia EVE; and Repsol YPF SA <REP.MC>, a Spanish petroleum
firm, acquire joint control of Bahia De Bizkaia Gas SL, a liquid
natural gas regasification company in Spain, currently jointly
controlled by Spain's Iberdrola SA <IBE.MC>, BP, EVE and Repsol
(notified Sept. 4/deadline Oct. 9)
OCT 13
-- German electricity and natural gas supplier E.ON
<EONGn.DE> to acquire from Belgian counterpart Electrabel, which
is part of GDF Suez <GSZ.PA>, sole control over two power plants
and drawing rights for electricity capacity in Belgium and the
Netherlands (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13)
OCT 16
-- Swiss human resources and recruitment services firm
Adecco <ADEN.VX> to acquire British counterpart Spring Group
<SPGR.L> (notified Sept. 11/deadline Oct. 16)
-- Belgian energy firm Electrabel, belonging to the French
GDF Suez Group <GSZ.PA>, to acquire sole control of certain
power plants and drawing rights for electricity capacity in
Germany from German electricity and natural gas firm E.ON
<EONGn.DE> (notified Sept. 11/deadline Oct. 16)
OCT 19
-- U.S. pipes, valves, fittings and related products
distributor McJunkin <MRC.N>, controlled by the Goldman Sachs
Group <GS.N>, to acquire Dutch counterpart Transmark (notified
Sept. 14/deadline Oct. 19/simplified)
OCT 20
-- SNCF-Participations, belonging to French state-owned
railway group SNCF, and Caisse de Depot et de Placement du
Quebec, a manager of pension and insurance funds mainly in
Quebec, take joint control of public transport operator Keolis
and Effia, a provider of services to facilitate passenger
mobility (notified Sept. 15/deadline Oct. 20)
OCT 21
-- Dutch heating products maker De Dietrich Remeha Holding
BV acquires control of British counterpart Baxi Holdings Ltd
(notified Sept. 16/deadline Oct. 21)
OCT 22
-- U.S. private equity firm Advent International Corp
acquires control of parts of the Median group of healthcare
companies <BEHGk.DE> (notified Sept. 17/deadline Oct.
22/simplified)
-- British investment fund RREEF Pan-European Infrastructure
Fund LP, managed by Germany's Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE>; Spanish
energy supplier Endesa Generacion SA <ELE.MC>, controlled by
Italian energy group Enel SpA <ENEI.MI>; and Spanish gas
supplier Union Fenosa Gas UFG SA, a joint venture between Union
Fenosa SA <UNF.SG> and Italian energy firm ENI SpA <ENI.MI>,
acquire joint control of Planta De Regasification De Sagunto SA
(SAGGAS), a liquid natural gas regasification company in Spain,
currently controlled jointly by Spain's Iberdrola SA <IBE.MC>,
UFG and Endesa (notified Sept. 17/deadline Oct. 22)
OCT 23
-- U.S. asset management and financial advisory company
Blackstone Group <BX.N> and British real estate investment firm
British Land Co Plc <BLND.L> acquire joint control of Broadgate
Estate, a UK holder of 17 London properties (notified Sept.
18/deadline Oct. 23/simplified)
-- Jersey Island-based private equity funds Investindustrial
LP; Investindustrial IV LP together known as Investindustrial
Funds and Alpha Private Equity Fund V also of Jersey-Channel
Island, acquire joint control of Italian construction, interior
design and architecture firm Permasteelisa SpA <PMS.MI>
(notified Sept. 18/deadline Oct. 23/simplified)
-- U.S. pharmaceutical group Merck & Co Inc <MRK.N> enter
into a full merger with U.S. healthcare company Schering Plough
Corp <SGP.N> (notified Sept.18/deadline Oct. 23)
OCT 26
-- Belgian telecoms operator Belgacom <BCOM.BR> acquires
Belgacom International Carrier Services SA (BICS), a global
provider of voice, data and value-added telecoms services. These
include services currently carried out by BICS as a joint
venture between Belgacom and Swisscom Belgium SA <SCMN.VX> and
international wholesale telecommunications activities MTN-ICS,
which will be acquired from MTN Dubai Ltd <MTNJ.J> as a result
of the transaction (notified Sept. 21/deadline Oct. 26)
-- U.S. soft drink maker Pepsico Inc <PEP.N> acquires
control of bottling company Pepsico Bottling Group <PBG.N>,
which operates bottling units mostly in the United States,
Mexico, Canada, Spain, Russia, Greece and Turkey (notified Sept.
21/deadline Oct. 26)
-- U.S. soft drink maker Pepsico Inc <PEP.N> acquires
control of Pepsi Americas <PAS.N>, which mostly bottles Pepsico
beverages with operations in the United States, Central and
Eastern Europe, the Caribbean and Central America (notified
Sept. 21/deadline Oct. 26)
OCT 28
-- French electricity firm Electricite De France SA,
belonging to EDF Group <EDF.PA>, acquires Belgian electricity
supplier SPE SA through the acquisition of shares held by
Belgium's Segebel SA, which owns a 51 percent stake in SPE
(notified Sept. 23/deadline Oct. 28)
OCT 29
-- British defence contractor BAE Systems <BAES.L> takes
control of counterpart BVT Surface Fleet Ltd, currently
controlled jointly by BAE Systems and VT Group Plc (notified
Sept. 24/deadline Oct. 29/simplified)
OCT 30
-- Dutch fresh produce group Univeg Holding BV, controlled
by Luxembourg-based private equity firm CVC Capital Partners,
and F.lli Ciccolella, an Italian firm that grows and sells cut
flowers and potted plants, acquire joint control over Univeg
Holding's flower and plant activities (notified Sept. 25/
deadline Oct. 30/simplified)
-- Abu Dhabi state-owned International Petroleum Investment
Co (IPIC) and Austrian oil and gas group OMV Aktiengesellschaft
<OMVV.VI> to acquire joint control of Canadian chemical and
energy products maker Nova Chemicals Corp (notified Sept.
25/deadline Oct. 30/simplified)
NOV 4
-- The Czech Republic's Cez Bohunice, belonging to Czech
power group Cez <> and Jadrova a Vyrad'ovacia
Spolocnost AS (JAVYS), a Slovakian nuclear waste treatment firm,
acquire control of new joint venture Jadrova Energeticka
Spolocnost' Slovenska AS (JESS) (notified Sept. 29/deadline Nov.
4)
SECOND-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE:
-- U.S. software maker Oracle Corp <ORCL.O> to acquire the
whole of computer hardware maker Sun Microsystems Inc <JAVA.O>
(notified Aug. 3/deadline Sept. 3/in-depth investigation opened
on Sept. 3/new deadline Jan. 19, 2010)
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.
