EU mergers and takeovers (Jan 23)

Chuang's China Investments

23/01/2018 16:14

BRUSSELS, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under 
review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU 
merger process: 
     
    APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS 
    -- Steel group Schmolz + Bickenbach to acquire some assets 
of Asco Industries (approved Jan 22) 
     
    NEW LISTINGS 
    None 
     
    EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES 
    -- Chinese pork supplier WH Group  0288.HK  subsidiary and 
U.S. meat producer Smithfield to acquire Polish meat company 
Pini Polonia (notified Nov. 27/deadline extended to Jan. 24 from 
Jan. 10/Polish competition authority asked to review the case 
Dec. 15/referred to the Polish competition authority) 
     
    FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE 
     
    JAN 25 
    -- SHV Holdings, through its LPG sector specialist SHV 
Energy, to acquire full control of Liquigas, a joint venture of 
SHV and Brixia Finanziaria (notified Dec. 12/deadline Jan. 
25/simplified) 
     
    JAN 30 
    -- U.S. insulation and roofing company Owens Corning Finland 
 OC.N  to acquire financial services provider Parry 1 Holding 
(notified Dec. 15/deadline Jan. 30) 
     
    FEB 2 
    -- Investment firms Vitruvian and Verdane Capital Advisors 
to take joint control of online car parking service EasyPark 
(notified Dec. 21/deadline Feb. 2/simplified) 
    -- Holding company EG Group to buy Esso  XOM.N  Germany's 
business (notified Dec. 21/deadline Feb. 5/simplified) 
    -- Packaging manufacturer S.A. Industrias Celulosa Aragonesa 
(SAICA) to acquire peer Emin Leydier (notified Dec. 20/deadline 
Feb. 2/simplified) 
     
    FEB 6 
    -- German renewable energy producer BayWa r.e. to acquire 
all of the shares in and control over C.E.T. Clean Energy 
Trading GmbH (notified Dec. 22/deadline Feb. 6/simplified) 
    -- Italian EDF  EDF.PA  unit Edison to buy Gas Natural's 
unit  GAS.MC  Gas Natural Vendita Italia (notified Nov. 
22/deadline Feb. 6/simplified) 
    -- German engineering group Hochtief  HOTG.DE  to take sole 
control of Spanish peer Abertis  ABE.MC  (notified Dec 
22/deadline Feb 6.) 
    -- U.S. television network Discovery Communications 
 DISCA.O  to acquire U.S. peer Scripps Networks Interactive Inc 
 SNI.O  (notified Dec. 8/ deadline extended to Feb. 6 after 
Discovery offered concessions) 
     
    FEB 12 
    -- Swiss logistics group Kuehne + Nagel to acquire sole 
control of the drinks distribution joint venture Kuehne + Nagel 
Drinkflow Logistics Holdings Limited (notified Jan. 8/deadline 
Feb. 12/simplified) 
    -- Ireland's Toohil Telecom to acquire Eircom Holdco SA from 
a group of investors. (notified Jan. 8/deadline Feb. 
12/simplified) 
     
    FEB 13 
    -- Private Equity Fund Nordic Capital VIII Limited to buy 
Alloheim Senioren-Residenzen Holding SE (notified Jan. 9/ 
deadline Feb. 13/ simplified) 
    -- EDF Unit EDF ENR PWT and Canadian Solar to set up a joint 
venture (notified Jan. 9/ deadline Feb. 13/ simplified) 
     
    FEB 14 
    -- Car rental company Avis Budget Group  CAR.O  and Turkey's 
Koc Holding  KCHOL.IS  to acquire Avis' Greek franchisee 
(notified Jan. 10/deadline Feb. 14/simplified) 
    -- Units of Ivanhoe Cambridge and QuadReal Property to set 
up joint venture to invest in Indian real estate projects, 
particularly logistics parks (notified Jan. 10/ deadline Feb. 
14/ simplified) 
     
    FEB 15 
    -- Private equity firm Waterland to acquire Dutch energy 
provider De Nederlandse Energie Maatschappij (notified Jan. 
11/deadline Feb. 15/simplified) 
     
    FEB 16 
    -- German industrial gases group Linde  LING.DE  to merge 
with U.S. peer Praxair  PX.N  (notified Jan. 12/ deadline Feb. 
16) 
    -- Shipping terminal investment holding PSA International to 
transfer sole control over PSA Panama International Terminal to 
joint control by PSA International and Terminal Investment 
Limited (notified Jan. 12/ deadline Feb. 16/ simplified) 
     
    FEB 20 
    -- Swiss Bell Food, part of Coop-Group, to buy all of 
Stoffel Holding AG and indirectly obtaint 50.22 pct of the 
capital and 65.01 pct of the voting right of food producer 
Huegli Holding  HUE.S  (notified Jan. 16/ deadline Feb. 20/ 
simplified) 
    -- Macquarie Super Core Infrastructure Fund and Allianz 
Infrastructure Luxembourg to jointly acquire Lakeside Network 
Investments, an investor in Finnish electricity and district 
heating networks (notified Jan. 16/ deadline Feb. 20/ 
simplified) 
    -- Goldman Sachs and Riverstone Investment Group to jointly 
acquire Lucid Energy Group II, a provider of natural gas 
processing and gathering in the United States (notified Jan. 16/ 
deadline Feb. 20/ simplified) 
     
    FEB 21 
    -- U.S. car parts supplier Key Safety Systems, which is a 
unit of China's Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp  600699.SS , to 
acquire Japanese car parts maker Takata Corp (notified Jan. 
17/deadline Feb. 21) 
     
    FEB 22 
    -- Czech energy utility EPH to acquire a stake in power 
plant Matrai Eromu (notified Jan. 18/deadline Feb. 
22/simplified) 
    -- Aerospace and defence group Northrop Grumman  NOC.N  to 
buy launch vehicle maker Orbital ATK (notified Jan. 18/ deadline 
Feb. 22/ simplified) 
    -- Spanish insurer Mapfre  MAP.MC  to promote renewal of 
guarantee insurance policies in Spain through joint venture with 
France's Euler Hermes  ELER.PA  (notified Jan. 18/ deadline Feb. 
22/ simplified) 
     
    MARCH 5 
    -- German industrial group Bayer  BAYGn.DE  to acquire U.S. 
seeds company Monsanto  MON.N  (notified June 30/deadline March 
5) 
     
    MARCH 22 
    -- Italian eyewear maker Luxottica  LUX.MI  and French lens 
manufacturer Essilor  ESSI.PA  to merge (notified Aug. 
22/deadline extended to March 22 from March 8) 
     
    MARCH 26 
    -- U.S. specialty material company Celanese  CE.N  and 
private equity firm Blackstone  BX.N  to combine their cellulose 
acetate tow units under a new joint venture (notified Sept. 
9/deadline extended to March 26 from March 19) 
     
    APRIL 4 
    -- Luxembourg-based steelmaker ArcelorMittal  MT.AS  to 
acquire Italian steel plant (notified Sept. 21/deadline extended 
to April 4 from March 23 after the companies asked for more 
time) 
     
    MAY 30 
    -- South African chemicals company Tronox  TROX.N  to 
acquire the titanium dioxide business of Cristal, a subsidiary 
of Saudi Arabia's Tasnee (notified Nov. 15/deadline extended to 
May 30 from mAY 15) 
     
    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 Foo Yun Chee) 
 ((foo.yunchee@thomsonreuters.com; +32 2287 6844; Reuters 
Messaging: foo.yunchee.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: EU M&A/