EU mergers and takeovers (Dec 8)
BRUSSELS, Dec 8 (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 firms Blackstone and TPG to jointly acquire British mortgage lender Kensington Group plc (approved Dec. 5) -- ReAssure to acquire HSBC's pensions manufacturing business (approved Dec. 5) NEW LISTINGS -- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Corp to transform their joint venture MHI Compressor International Corp to a full function joint venture (Dec. 4/deadline Jan. 20/simplified) EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES None FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE DEC 10 -- Santander Consumer Finance, part of Spanish bank Santander, and French car maker Peugeot S.A. (PSA) to set up a series of joint finance companies (notified Nov. 5/deadline Dec. 10) DEC 12 -- U.S. investment management firm Varder Partners to acquire 51 percent of Spanish bank Popular's credit card business (notified Nov. 14/deadline Dec. 12/simplified) -- Privately-held Czech airline Travel Service to take a 34 percent stake in national carrier Czech Airlines (notified Nov. 14/deadline Dec. 12 DEC 15 -- Oil major BP to acquire jet fuel business Statoil Fuel and Retail Aviation (notified Oct. 27/deadline extended to Dec. 15 from Dec. 1 after the companies offered concessions) -- Mondelez International Inc and competitor D.E Master Blenders to merge their coffee businesses in new company called Jacobs Douwe Egberts (notified Oct. 27/deadline extended to Dec. 15 from Dec. 1 after the companies offered concessions) -- Aerospace group Airbus and Singapore Airlines to jointly acquire Airbus Asia Training Centre (notified Nov. 10/deadline Dec. 15/simplified) -- France's Lafarge and Swiss peer Holcim to merge (notified with commitments on Oct. 27/deadline Dec. 15) DEC 17 -- Private equity firm 3i to acquire Diamond Holding GmbH from German jewellery retailer Group Christ Juweliere und Unrmacher Seit (notified Nov. 12/deadline Dec. 17/simplified) DEC 19 -- Private equity firm CCMP Capital to acquire joint control of chemicals producer PQ Holdings Inc which is now jointly controlled by INEOS and private equity group The Carlyle Group LP (notified Nov. 14/deadline Dec. 19/simplified) -- Czech state-owned holding company Cesky Aeroholding and privately-owned low-cost Czech carrier Travel Service to jointly acquire Czech Airlines (notified Nov. 14/deadline Dec. 19) -- Private equity firm EQT to acquire German engineering groups Siemens's hearing-aids business (notified Nov. 14/deadline Dec. 19/simplified) -- CCMP Capital to acquire 47 percent stake in PQ Corp from Carlyle Group (notified Nov. 14/deadline Dec. 19/simplified) -- Yanfeng Automotive Trim Systems, a subsidiary of China's biggest automaker SAIC Motor Corp., to acquire Johnson Control's auto interiors business (notified Nov. 14/deadline Dec. 19/simplified) DEC 23 -- U.S. healthcare information company IMS Health to acquire certain businesses from French healthcare software provider Cegedim (notified Nov. 4/deadline extended to Dec. 23 from Dec. 9 after the companies offered commitments) -- U.S. company IBM to take over German airline Lufthansa's information technology infrastructure services division and staff for 1 billion euros (notified Nov. 18/deadline Dec. 23) JAN 5 -- Norwegian telecoms firm Telenor to form a joint venture with media company Schibsted, South Africa's Naspers and Singapore Press Holdings (notified Nov. 19/deadline Jan. 5/simplified) JAN 6 -- French holding company Eurazeo and Groupe Credit Agricole to jointly acquire two building complexes SCI Lafayette and SCI Stratege (notified Nov. 20/deadline Jan. 6/simplified) -- Hong Kong conglomerate Cheung Kong to form joint venture with Mitsubishi Corp's leasing arm MC Aviation Partners (notified Nov. 20/deadline Jan. 6/simplified) JAN 7 -- Brazilian juice maker Grupo Cutrale and investment firm Safra Group to jointly acquire U.S. banana producer Chiquita (notified Nov. 21/deadline Jan. 7/simplified) JAN 8 -- Dutch investment firm SHV to acquire Dutch animal feed and nutrition company Nutreco (notified Nov. 24/deadline Jan. 8/simplified) -- Norwegian media group Schibsted and Norwegian telecoms operator Telenor to set up a joint venture(notified Nov. 25/deadline Jan. 8/simplified) -- Investment firm Apollo Management to acquire Italian insurer Carige (notified Nov. 24/deadline Jan. 8/simplified) JAN 12 -- China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC) and Finnish industrial engine maker Wartsila to set up a joint venture (notified Nov. 26/deadline Jan. 12/simplified) JAN 13 -- Wood products retailer Oji Holdings and petroleum products retailer Itochu Enex Co. Ltd to set up two joint ventures in Japan (notified Nov. 27/deadline Jan. 13/simplified) JAN 14 -- Swiss drugmaker Novartis to acquire British peer GlaxoSmithKline's oncology products (notified Nov. 28/deadline Jan. 14) -- British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline to acquire Novartis' vaccines business, excluding Flu, and the settting up of a consumer healthcare joint venture (notified Nov. 28/deadline Jan. 14) -- Generic drugmaker Mylan Inc to purchase Abbot Laboratories' specialty and branded generics business outside the United States (notified Nov. 28/deadline Jan. 14) -- PRS for Music Ltd (PRSfM), Foreningen Svenska Tonsattares Internationella Mysikbyra (Stim) and Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungs- und mechanische Vervielfältigungsrechte (Gema) to set up a joint venture to administer mechanical and performing rights (notified Nov. 28/deadline Jan. 14) -- Czech energy group Energeticky a Prumyslovy Holding (EPH) to acquire the Eggborough British coal-fired power plant from Eggborough Power Ltd (notified Nov. 28/deadline Jan. 14/simplified) -- Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners to acquire Dutch cable and wires producer Betafence Holding NV (notified Nov. 28/deadline Jan. 14/simplified) FEB 5 -- Belgian telecoms group Telenet to acquire 50 percent stake in Belgian broadcasting company De Vijver Media (notified Aug. 18/deadline extended for the second time to March 5 from Feb. 5) MARCH 5 -- Belgian telecoms group Telenet, which is a subsidiary of U.S. cable group Liberty Global, to acquire 50 percent stake in Belgian broadcasting company De Vijver Media (notified Aug. 18/deadline extended for the second time to March 5 from Feb. 5/companies submitted concessions on Nov. 24) APRIL 22 -- SOCAR, Azerbaijan's state energy company, to buy stakes in Greek natural gas grid operator DESFA from Greek natural gas utility DEPA (notified Oct. 1/deadline extended for the second time to April 22 from March 23) APRIL 24 -- French telecoms operator Orange to acquire Spanish provider Jazztel (notified Oct. 16/deadline extended to April 24 from Dec. 4 after the Commission opened an in-depth probe) SUSPENDED -- U.S. orthopaedic products maker Zimmer Holdings to acquire rival Biomet Inc (notified Aug. 29/deadline suspended from Dec. 2, 2014) 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)
