The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process:
APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS
-- Hon Hai to acquire a 46.5 percent stake in Sharp Display Products which is owned by Sharp (approved June 25)
-- Germany's Bertelsmann to acquire a stake in German software company Bidmanagement (approved June 19)
NEW LISTINGS
-- U.S. car parts maker Delphi Automotive Plc to buy FCI Group's motorized vehicles unit (MVL) which is owned by private equity firm Bain Capital (notified June 22/deadline July 27)
-- Private equity firm Bain to acquire a stake in Japanese TV shopping station Jupiter Shop Channel which is owned by Japanese group Sumitomo (notified June 22/deadline July 27/simplified)
-- Spanish lender Banco Santander to purchase Poland's Kredyt Bank from Belgian bank KBC (notified June 21/deadline July 26/simplified)
-- Private equity firm Silver Lake Group to acquire Luxembourg-based sales tax refund services company Global Blue (notified June 15/deadline July 20/simplified)
EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES
-- Spanish oil product company Disa Corporacion Petrolifera to acquire joint control of Shell Aviation Espana, a unit of Shell (referred to the Spanish competition regulators on June 21)
FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE
JUNE 26
-- Russia's EuroChem to acquire German potash miner K+S's nitrogen fertiliser distribution business (notified May 21/deadline June 26/simplified)
-- German engine maker Tognum and Russian engine producer TMH to form a joint venture (notified May 21/deadline June 26/simplified)
-- German car parts maker Robert Bosch to acquire the automotive service business of U.S. manufacturer SPX Service Solutions Business (notified May 21/deadline June 26)
-- U.S. technology distributor Arrow Electronics to acquire computing product distributor Altimate Group which is a unit of Irish business services group DCC Plc (notified May 21/deadline June 26)
-- Samsung Electronics to acquire sole control of Samsung Mobile Display Co which is now jointly controlled by Samsung Electronics and Samsung SDI Co Ltd (notified May 21/deadline June 26/simplified)
JUNE 29
-- Hong Kong's Hutchison 3G, which is part of Hutchison Whampoa, to acquire telecoms operator Orange Austria from France Telecom (notified May 7/deadline extended to June 29 from June 15 after Austrian competition regulators asked for the case to be referred to them)
-- Private equity firm CVC to acquire business consultancy Alix Partners (notified May 24/deadline June 29/simplified)
-- German animal product manufacturer Saria bio-Industries AG, which is controlled by German privately-owned water management and logistics company Rethmann, to set up a joint venture together with Danish meat processing company Danish Crown (notified May 24/deadline June 29)
-- Toshiba Tech Corp, a unit of Japan's Toshiba Corp, to buy IBM's point-of-sale terminal business (notified May 24/deadline June 29)
JULY 2
-- Venture capital firm BPCE to acquire joint control of staffing agency Accent Jobs For People (notified May 25/deadline July 2/simplified)
-- Swedish telecoms equipment maker Ericsson to acquire technology services company Technicolor Broadcasting Services (notified May 25/deadline July 2/simplified)
JULY 3
-- British telecoms operator Vodafone to acquire telecoms provider Cable & Wireless Worldwide (notified May 29/deadline July 3)
-- Geneva-based commodities trader Vitol to buy a stake in the Cockett Group which is involved in bunkering activities and is a subsidiary of South African shipping firm Grindrod (notified May 29/deadline July 3/simplified)
JULY 4
-- France's La Poste and Switzerland's Swiss Post to set up a joint venture for cross border mail activities (notified May 11/deadline extended to July 4 from June 20 after the companies offered commitments)
-- Spanish bank Santander, Hyundai Motor Company , Hyundai Capital Services and Kia Motors UK Ltd to set up a joint venture (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified)
-- Japanese cash handling machine maker Glory Ltd to acquire Britain's Talaris Topco Ltd (notified May 30/deadline July 4)
JULY 5
-- Animal feed producer Forfarmers to acquire holding company Agricola which owns a group of British animal feed suppliers operating under the trade name BOCM Pauls (notified May 31/deadline July 5)
-- Germany car maker Volkswagen's Audi division to buy Italian motorcycle maker Ducati (notified May 31/deadline July 5/simplified)
-- Finnish engineering company Metso to acquire Finnish ship and power plant engine maker Wartsila's holding in their MW Power joint venture. Metso currently owns 60 percent and Wartsila 40 percent of MW Power (notified May 31/deadline July 5/simplified)
JULY 6
-- Swedish paper company SCA to acquire the European tissue operations of Georgia-Pacific Europe (notified May 15/deadline extended to July 6 from June 22 after the companies submitted commitments)
-- Private equity firm Providence Equity Partners to acquire HSE24, which operates teleshopping broadcasters in Germany (notified June 1/deadline July 6/simplified)
JULY 9
-- Private equity firm Nordic Capital to acquire Finnish discoun retailer Tokmanni (notified June 4/deadline July 9/simplified)
-- Swiss commodities trader Glencore to acquire Canadian grain handler Viterra Inc (notified June 4/deadline July 9/simplified)
JULY 10
-- French insurer Axa and French bank BNP Paribas to jointly acquire a shopping mall in France (notified June 5/deadline July 10/simplified)
JULY 12
-- Private equity firm Bain Capital to acquire holding company Scandinavian Installations Refi which owns energy company Bravida with operations in Sweden, Denmark and Norway (notified June 7/deadline July 12/simplified)
-- Proposed acquisition of joint control of electronics components maker NEC TOKIN Corp. by KEMET Electronics Corp. and NEC Corp. (notified June 7/deadline July 12)
JULY 13
-- OK ekonomisk förening (OKEF) and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation to acquire joint control of Kuwait Petroleum (Danmark) (notified June 8/deadline July 13/simplified)
JULY 16
-- Private equity firm Lion Capital to acquire French eyewear retailer Alain Afflelou (notified June 11/deadline July 16/simplified)
-- U.S. specialty chemicals maker Cytec Industries to acquire British manufacturer Umeco (notified June 11/deadline July 16)
-- European aerospace group EADS and Israeli Aerospace Industries to set up a joint venture (notified June 11/deadline July 16)
-- Private equity firm Permira Europe III to acquire Spain's Telepizza (notified June 11/deadline July 16/simplified)
JULY 18
-- German grid operator TenneT Offshore GnbH and Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi Corp to acquire joint control of energy company Tennet Offshore 2 (notified June 13/deadline July 18/simplified)
JULY 19
-- Swedish company Nuvia, which is a subsidiary of French property company Vinci, and Sweden's Coor Services Management Nuclear AB, which is a unit of private equity firm Cinven, to set up a joint venture (notified June 14/deadline July 19/simplified)
-- French cooperative Tereos and Singapore-based Wilmar to set up a starch technology joint venture (notified June 14/deadline July 19/simplified)
JULY 20
-- Private equity firms L Capital and Paladin Capital Partners to acquire joint control of Italian restaurant developer and operator Cigierre Compagnia Generale Ristorazione (notified June 15/deadline July 20/simplified)
-- U.S. mail delivery company United Parcel Service Inc to acquire Dutch peer TNT Express (notified June 15/deadline July 20)
-- British chip maker ARM Holdings, Amsterdam-based smart card maker Gemalto and German technology firm Giesecke & Devrient to set up a joint venture on mobile security (notified June 15/deadline July 20)
-- U.S. water treatment products company Pentair to acquire U.s. conglomerate Tyco International's flow control business (notified June 15/deadline July 20/simplified)
JULY 23
-- French car parts maker Faurecia to acquire French car parts manufacturer Plastal SAS (notified June 18/deadline July 23)
-- U.S. network equipment maker Cisco to acquire TV software developer NDS which is 51 percent owned by private equity fund Permira and the rest by News Corp (notified June 18/deadline July 23)
-- Polish copper miner KGHM and Polish utility Tauron to set up a joint venture to build a gas steam power unit (notified June 18/deadline July 23)
JULY 24
-- Private equity firm Platinum Equity to acquire logistics company Caterpillar Logistics Services (notified June 19/decision July 24/simplified)
JULY 25
-- Canadian IT services company CGI Group Inc to acquire Dutch rival Logica Plc (notified June 20/deadline July 25/simplified)
AUG 31
-- U.S. conglomerate United Technologies Corp to acquire U.S. aircraft components maker Goodrich (notified Feb. 20/deadline extended for the second time to Aug. 31 from Aug. 9/companies offered commitments June 11)
SEPT 6
-- Vivendi's Universal Music Group to buy British record label EMI's recorded music unit from Citigroup Inc (notified Feb. 17/deadline extended for the second time to Sept. 6 from Aug. 8 after the Commission asked for more time)
SEPT 19
-- Telefonica UK and Vodafone UK to set up a joint venture providing mobile commerce services (notified March 6/deadline extended for the second time to Sept. 19 from Aug. 27 after the companies requested an extension)
OCT 24
-- Finnish group Outokumpu to acquire German group ThyssenKrupp's Inoxum stainless steel unit (notified April 10/deadline extended for the second time to Oct. 24 from Sept. 26 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.
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