Ibm Share News (IBM)

BRUSSELS, March 20 (Reuters) - The following are mergersunder review by the European Commission and a brief guide to theEU merger process:

APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS

-- Private equity firm Advent International to acquireFrench telephony products distributor Circet Groupe (approvedMarch 19)

NEW LISTINGS

None

EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES

-- German industrial gases group Linde to mergewith U.S. peer Praxair (notified Jan. 12/ deadlineextended to Aug. 9)

FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE

MARCH 23

-- Chemicals company Quaker Chemical Corp andHinduja Group's Houghton Internatioal to merge(notified Feb. 2/deadline extended to March 23 from March 9after the companies provided concessions)

MARCH 27

-- Marubeni Itochu Steel and Sumitomo Corp toacquire joint control of Hiroshima Steel Center Ltd, which is aunit of Marubeni Itochu Steel (notified Feb. 20/deadline March27/simplified)

APRIL 4

-- Swiss luxury goods group Richemont to acquiree-commerce portal Yoox Net-A-Porter Group (notifiedFeb. 23/deadline April 4/simplified)

-- Chinese conglomerate Fosun to acquire Germanpension insurer Pro Bav Pensionskasse (notified Feb. 23/deadlineApril 4/simplified)

-- Austrian company Borealis, Canada's NovaChemicals and French oil and gas major Total to set upa joint venture (notified Feb. 23/deadline April 4/simplified)

APRIL 5

-- Private equity firm KKE to acquire UK car partsmaker Tekfor (notified Feb. 26/deadline April 5/simplified)

-- U.S. specialty material company Celanese andprivate equity firm Blackstone to combine their celluloseacetate tow units under a new joint venture (notified Sept.9/deadline extended to April 5 from March 26)

-- German industrial group Bayer to acquire U.S.seeds company Monsanto (notified June 30/deadlineextended to April 5 from March 12 after Bayer offeredconcessions)

APRIL 6

-- Private equity firm KKR to acquire Anglo-Dutchconsumer products group Unilever's margarineand spreads business (notified Feb. 27/deadline April6/simplified)

APRIL 9

-- U.S. software company IBM and Danish shippingcompany Maersk to set up a joint venture (notifiedFeb. 28/deadline April 9/simplified)

-- Private equity firm Platinum Equity Group to acquire U.S.hotelier Wyndham Worldwide Corp's European vacationrental business (notified Feb. 28/deadline April 9/simplified)

APRIL 10

-- Investment management firm 3I to acquire Dutch personalcare products maker SITS Holding B.V. (notified March 1/deadlineApril 10/simplified)

-- Australian investment bank Macquarie Group toacquire Danish telecoms company TDC (notified March1/deadline April 10/simplified)

APRIL 11

-- Apollo Capital Management and JSW Steel Limited to takejoint control of Monnet Ispat Energy Limited (notified March2/deadline April 11/simplified)

-- Private equity firm Equistone Partners Europe to acquireFrench leisure travel services providers Fram and Karavel(notified March 2/deadline April 11/simplified)

-- French oil and gas major Total to acquire partof French gas and power group Engie's liquifiednatural gas business (notified March 2/deadline April 11)

APRIL 12

-- U.S. private equity firm Global Infrastructure Partnersto acquire Italian train operator Nuovo Trasporto ViaggiatoriS.p.A. (notified March 5/deadline April 12/simplified)

-- Investment funds Prime Credit 3, Oxalis Holding and threeindividuals to acquire joint control of Phoenix AssetManagement, which is now owned by the three individuals(notified March 5/deadline April 12/simplified)

APRIL 13

-- PPF Group to acquire sole control of Czech transportationcompany Skoda Transportation and its subsidiaries rail vehiclesresearch company VUKV, production facilities provider JokiauraKakkonen, holding company Satacoto, property services companySkoda Investment and repair services provider Bammer Trade(notified March 6/deadline April 13/simplified)

-- Canadian asset management company Brookfield toacquire Spanish renewable energy company Saeta(notified March 6/deadline April 13/simplified)

-- Insurer Sedgwick, which is controlled by private equityfirm KKR, to acquire insurance services providerCunningham Lindsey (notified March 6/deadline April 13)

APRIL 16

-- U.S. conglomerate GE and Russia oil and naturalgas producer Rosneft to set up a joint venture(notified March 7/deadline April 16/simplified)

-- Germany's BASF to acquire businesses fromBayer (notified March. 7/deadline April 16)

-- Lenovo Group and Fujitsu to set up ajoint venture whereby Lenovo acquires a majority stake incertain assets of Fujitsu's PC business (notified March7/deadline April 16)

-- Strategic Value Partners to take control of polyurethanefoam maker Vita Group (notified March. 7/deadline April16/simplified)

APRIL 18

-- Cerberus Capital Management to acquire Spanishbank BBVA's real estate business (notified March9/deadline April 18/simplified)

-- U.S. auto parts retailer LKQ Corp to acquireGerman peer Stahlgruber (notified March 9/deadline April 18)

APRIL 19

-- Private equity firms Cathay Pacific Private Equity andEquistone Partners Europe to jointly acquire German car partsmaker E. Winkemann (notified March 12/deadline April19/simplified)

-- U.S. aerospace and industrial company United TechnologiesCorp to acquire avionics maker Rockwell Collins(notified March 12/deadline April 19)

APRIL 23

-- iPhone maker Apple to acquire UK music streamingservice Shazam (notified March 14/deadline April 23)

-- U.S. investment company TA Associates and Frenchinvestment bank Rothschild to jointly acquire Britishsoftware company Datix (notified March 14/deadline April23/simplified)

APRIL 24

-- Scottish investment company Standardlifeaberdeen, UK oiland gas investment company Neptune and Danish insurerPensionDanmark to acquire joint control of natural gas transportcompany NGT (notified March 15/deadline April 24/simplified)

MAY 4

--- U.S. wheel parts supplier Accuride, which is controlledby private equity firm Crestview L.L.C., to acquire German peerMetro Wheels (notified March 12/deadline extended to May 4 fromApril 19 after Accuride submitted concessions)

MAY 23

-- Luxembourg-based steelmaker ArcelorMittal toacquire Italian steel plant (notified Sept. 21/deadline extendedto May 23 after ArcelorMittal offered concessions)

JUNE 7

-- South African chemicals company Tronox toacquire the titanium dioxide business of Cristal, a subsidiaryof Saudi Arabia's Tasnee (notified Nov. 15/deadline extended toJune 7)

GUIDE TO EU MERGER PROCESS

DEADLINES:

The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal isfiled for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 workingdays to 35 working days, to consider either a company's proposedremedies or an EU member state's request to handle the case.

Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commissionopens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90additional working days, which it may extend to 105 workingdays.

SIMPLIFIED:

Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces theclearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without givingany reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified asnon-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - untilthey are approved.(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)