EU mergers and takeovers (Oct 6)
BRUSSELS, Oct 6 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process:
APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS
-- Japanese healthcare company Konica Minolta to acquire U.S. diagnostics company Ambry Genetics (approved Oct. 6)
-- Bermuda-headquartered reinsurer Axis Capital Holdings Ltd to acquire UK insurer Novae (approved Oct. 6)
-- Australian investment firm IFM Investors Pty Ltd and Singapore shipping terminal operator PSA International Pte Ltd to jointly acquire Turkish terminal operator Mersin (approved Sept. 29)
NEW LISTINGS
None
EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES
None
FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE
OCT 11
-- French banks Societe Generale and BNP Paribas to acquire joint control of German office building owner Horizon Development GmbH (notified Sept. 6/deadline Oct. 11/simplified)
OCT 12
-- Dutch property developer Unibail Rodamco and German real estate fund Commerz Real Investmentgeseelschaft to jointly acquire Czech shopping centre owner CGI Metropole (notified Sept. 7/deadline Oct. 12/simplified)
OCT 13
-- Mirova Core Infrastructure, COMSA and Dutch fund manager PGGM to acquire joint control of Mircom Concesiones de Infraestructuras (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13/simplified)
-- Italian infrastructure group Atlantia to acquire Spanish rival Abertis (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13)
-- Anglo-Dutch oil group Royal Dutch Shell to acquire indirect joint control of natural gas producer Crestwood Permian Basin LLC which is now solely controlled by Crestwood Permian Basin Holdings (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13/simplified)
OCT 16
-- Swiss food company Nestle to acquire sole control of Beverage Partners Worldwide, a joint venture between Nestle and the Coca-Cola Co (notified Oct. 11/deadline Oct. 16)
OCT 17
-- U.S. specialty material company Celanese and private equity firm Blackstone to combine their cellulose acetate tow units under a new joint venture (notified Sept. 9/deadline Oct. 17)
-- Private equity firm Advent to acquire communications services company Williams Lea (notified Sept. 12/deadline Oct. 17/simplified)
OCT 18
-- U.S. medical equipment supplier Becton Dickinson and Co to acquire U.S. peer C R Bard Inc (notified Aug. 30/deadline extended to Oct.18 after commitments submitted on Sept. 27)
-- Bermuda-headquartered reinsurer Axis Capital Holdings Ltd to acquire UK insurer Novae (notified Sept. 13/deadline Oct. 18/simplified)
-- German insurer Allianz to acquire UK financial services group Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society Ltd's general insurance businesses (notified Sept. 13/deadline Oct. 18/simplified)
OCT 20
-- U.S. life sciences company Avantor to acquire U.S. lab supplies company VWR (notified Sept. 15/deadline Oct. 20)
-- U.S. fashion group Michael Kors to acquire British shoemaker Jimmy Choo (notified Sept. 15/deadline Oct. 20/simplified)
-- U.S. company AES Corp and German conglomerate Siemens to acquire joint control of a joint venture (notified Sept. 15/deadline Oct. 20/simplified)
OCT 23
-- French carmaker Renault to acquire a 29 percent stake in electric car smart charging services provider Jedlix, which is now jointly controlled by Dutch renewable energy company Eneco Groep (notified Sept. 18/deadline Oct. 23/simplified)
-- Dutch warehouse owner Borealis European Holdings B.V., Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board and SSE to acquire joint control of UK energy meter company Maple (notified Sept. 18/deadline Oct. 23/simplified)
-- French carmaker Renault to acquire a 25 percent stake in electric car charging services Jedlix (notified Sept. 18/deadline Oct. 23/simplified)
OCT 24
-- U.S. company Platinum Equity Group to acquire UK aerospace distributor Pattonair Holdings Ltd (notified Sept. 19/deadline Oct. 24/simplified)
-- UK energy company Greenergy to acquire fuel supplier Inver Energy Ltd (notified Sept. 19/deadline Oct. 24)
OCT 25
-- Jacobs Engineering Group to acquire technical consulting services provider CH2M Hill Companies (notified Sept. 20/deadline Oct. 25/simplified)
-- Private equity firm Warburg Pincus and carmaker Tata Motors to jointly acquire Tata Technologies (notified Sept. 20/deadline Oct. 25/simplified)
OCT 26
-- Luxembourg-based steelmaker ArcelorMittal to acquire Italian steel plant (notified Sept. 21/deadline Oct. 26)
-- French car parts maker Valeo to acquire German clutch maker FTE Automotive(notified Sept. 7/deadline Oct. 26/commitments submitted Sept. 7)
OCT 27
-- German chemicals company Evonik and Dutch peer DSM to set up a joint venture (notified Sept. 22/deadline Oct. 27/simplified)
OCT 30
-- British company CRH plc to acquire XI (RMAT) Holdings GmbH, the German holding company of limestone producer Fels-Werke GmbH which is part of Xella International (notified Sept. 25/deadline Oct. 30)
OCT 31
-- French energy company Engie and Caisse des Depots et Consignations to acquire joint control of a wind power producer (notified Sept. 26/deadline Oct. 31/simplified)
-- Private equity firm Equistone Partners Europe SAS to acquire French furniture disbributor Groupe Bruneau (notified Sept. 26/deadline Oct. 31/simplified)
NOV 3
Private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners to acquire legal services provider CPA Global Group (notified Sept. 27/deadline Nov. 3/simplified)
NOV 8
-- Private equity-backed Neptune Oil & Gas to acquire majority stake in French utility Engie's exploration and production business (notified Oct.2/deadline Nov.8/simplified)
NOV 10
-- German auto components supplier Bosch and Chinese counterpart Hasco to take over manufacturer of electric power steering products ASCN (notified Oct. 4/deadline Nov. 10/simplified)
JAN 22
-- German industrial group Bayer to acquire U.S. seeds company Monsanto (notified June 30/deadline extended to Jan. 22 from Jan. 8 after the companies asked for more time)
FEB 12
-- Italian eyewear maker Luxottica and French lens manufacturer Essilor to merge (notified Aug. 22/deadline extended to Feb. 12 from Sept. 26 after the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation)
DEADLINE SUSPENDED
-- U.S. smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm to acquire Dutch company NXP Semiconductors NV (notified April 28/deadline suspended from Aug. 17)
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. (Reporting by Julia Fioretti)