BRUSSELS, Feb 25 (Reuters) - The following are mergers underreview by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EUmerger process:
APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS
-- Dental supply maker DENTSPLY to merge withSirona Dental Systems (approved Feb. 25)
-- U.S. engineering and construction group Fluor Corp to acquire Dutch rival Stork (approved Feb.23)
-- Private equity firm American Securities to acquire U.S.industrial product company Blount International (approved Feb. 23)
-- Private equity firm PAI Partners to acquire French hoteloperator B&B Hotels (approved Feb. 22)
-- Sanofi and Google to jointly set up ajoint venture for diabetes treatment (approved Feb. 22)
NEW LISTINGS
-- British rivate equity firm Bridgepoint Group to acquirePolish children's apparel and toy store chain SMYK Group(notified Feb. 23/deadline April 1/simplified)
EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES
-- McKesson to acquire certain businesses, notablypharmaceutical wholesaling in UK and Ireland, from UDGHealthcare (notified Jan. 14/deadline extended to March3 from Feb. 18 after a national competition regulator asked totake over the case)
FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE
FEB 26
-- Airbus Safran Launchers, a 50/50 joint venture betweenAirbus and Safran, to acquire sole control ofsatellite group Arianespace (notified on Jan. 8/deadlineextended to Feb. 26 from Feb. 12 after Airbus Safran Launchersoffered concessions)
-- British supermarket J Sainsbury, DanskSupermarket A/S and Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc toacquire a grocery store (notified Jan. 22/deadline Feb.26/simplified)
-- German food company Tonnies to acquire Danish peer Tican(notified Jan. 22/deadline Feb. 26)
FEB 29
-- U.S. computer maker Dell Inc to acquire data storagecompany EMC Corp (notified Jan. 25/deadline Feb. 29)
MARCH 4
-- Macquarie Capital and Canadian real estate investorIvanhoe to jointly acquire real estate developers LogosAustralia and Logos China (notified Jan. 29/deadline March4/simplified)
MARCH 7
-- Private equity fund Lone Star Fund to acquire food andbeverage vending machine maker N&W Global Vending (notified Feb. 1/deadline March 7/simplified)
-- Coop subsidiary Bell AG to acquire poultry processingcompany HL Verwaltung (notified Feb 1/deadline March7/simplified)
MARCH 8
-- Celulosa Arauco y Constitucion S.A. (Arauco) and SonaeIndustria SGPS, SA (Sonae Industria) to acquire indirect jointcontrol of wood products company Tableros de Fibras S.A.(Tafisa) (notified Feb 2/deadline March 8/simplified)
MARCH 9
-- German agricultural services company HauptgenossenschaftNord to buy sector peer Roth Agrarhandel (notified on Feb.3/deadline March 9/simplified)
MARCH 10
-- Israeli drugmaker Teva to acquire U.S. peerAllergan's generics drugs business (notified Jan.21/deadline extended to March 10 from Feb. 25 after Teva offerscommitments)
-- Private equity firm KKR to acquire sole controlof French IT services provider Webhelp (notified on Feb.4/deadline March 10/simplified)
-- Statoil Fuel and Retail to acquire fuelsbusiness of Dansk Fuels (notified on Feb. 4/deadline March 10)
-- EDF and China General Nuclear Power Corp formsNNB GenCo consortium for nuclear power plant construction (notified on Feb. 4/deadline March 10)
-- LVMH is combining its private equity and realestate units with U.S. private equity firm Catterton to form LCatterton (notified on Feb. 4/deadline March 10/simplified)
MARCH 11
-- Nordic Capital to acquire Scandinavian fruits andvegetables distributor Greendeli Investment Holding (notifiedFeb. 5/deadline March 11/simplified)
-- CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd and Vimpelcom to merge their Italian mobile operations (notified Feb.5/deadline March 11)
MARCH 15
-- U.S. conglomerate United Technologies Corp toacquire Italian water heating appliances maker Riello Group(notified Feb. 9/deadline March 15/simplified)
-- China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) toacquire German industrial machinery maker KraussMaffei Group (notified Feb. 9/deadline March 15)
MARCH 16
-- Slot machine maker Loewen Entertainment German gamblinghalls operator Safari Holding and Schmidt Gruppe ServiceGesellschaft fur Spielerschutz und pravention to set up a jointventure (notified Feb. 10/deadline March 16/simplified)
-- French company Avril Pole Animal and German meat productprocessor Tonnies International Holding to set up a jointventure (notified Feb. 10/deadline March 16/simplified)
MARCH 17
-- British plastic packaging company RPC Group toacquire French bottle-top maker Global Closure Systems (notifiedFeb. 11/deadline March 17/simplified)
MARCH 18
-- U.S. car parts distributor LKQ Corp to acquireItaly's Rhiag Group from private equity firm Apax Partners LLP(notified Feb. 12/deadline March 18)
MARCH 22
-- Private equity firm Equistone Partners Europe to acquirecar parts maker Mecaplast Group (notified Feb. 16/deadline March22/simplified)
-- Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin producer IndoramaNetherlands to acquire Guadarranque Polyester (notified Feb.16/deadline March 22)
-- Private equity firm Equistone Partners Europe SAS toacquire car parts maker Mecaplast Group (notified Feb.16/deadline March 22/simplified)
MARCH 30
-- Japanese employment agency Recruit to acquireDutch peer USG People (notified Feb. 19/deadline March30/simplified)
APRIL 22
-- Hutchison Whampoa to acquire Telefonica's O2 UK subsidiary (notified Sept. 11/deadline extendedfor the fifth time to April 22 from April 18)
SUSPENDED
-- Oilfield services provider Halliburton to buyrival Baker Hughes in a stock and cash transaction(notified Nov. 27/deadline suspended on Feb. 18 after companiesfailed to provide some information)
-- SOCAR, Azerbaijan's state energy company, to buy stakesin Greek natural gas grid operator DESFA from Greek natural gasutility DEPA (notified Oct. 1/deadline suspended on Jan. 21)
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 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 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 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. (Compiled by Brussels newsroom)
