EU mergers and takeovers (Sept 29)

The following are planned mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process:

APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS:

-- German mail delivery firm TNT Deutschland, belonging to the Dutch group TNT NV, and German publishing, electronic media and mail delivery company Holtzbrinck acquire a number of joint ventures registered in Germany and active in regional mail delivery (approved Sept. 29)

NEW LISTINGS:

-- U.S. soft drink maker Pepsico Inc acquires control of bottling company The Pepsico bottling Group which operates bottling units mostly in the United States, Mexico, Canada, Spain, Russia, Greece and Turkey (notified Sept. 21/deadline Oct. 26)

-- U.S. soft drink maker Pepsico Inc acquires control of Pepsi Americas which mostly bottles Pepsico beverages with operations in the United States, Central and Eastern Europe, the Caribbean and Central America (notified Sept. 21/deadline Oct. 26)

-- British defence contractor BAE Systems takes control of counterpart BVT Surface Fleet Ltd, currently jointly-controlled by BAE Systems and VT Group Plc (notified Sept. 24/deadline Oct. 29/simplified)

EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES:

None

FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE:

SEPT 29

-- Japanese electronics company Panasonic Corp to acquire counterpart Sanyo Electric (notified Aug. 11/deadline Sept. 15/extended on Sept. 10/new deadline Sept. 29)

OCT 6

-- Czech energy firm International Power Opatovice a.s., controlled by Britain's International Power Plc; the City of Prague; and German energy group EnBW, which is jointly controlled by French and German energy firms Electricite de France and Zweckverband Oberschwaebische Elektrizitaetswerke, take joint control of Czech energy provider Prazska Teplarenska a.s. (notified Sept. 1/deadline Oct. 6)

-- U.S. auto maker General Motors to acquire parts of U.S. automotive components firm Delphi (notified Sept. 1/deadline Oct. 6)

-- Test Tasit, a newly incorporated company ultimately controlled solely by British private equity investor Bridgepoint Capital Group Ltd, to acquire joint control of Tuvturk Kuzey, Tuvturk Guney and Tuvturk Istanbul, involved in vehicle inspections in Turkey, with existing parent companies Tuv Sud of Germany and Dogus Holding of Turkey. Test Tasit also to take sole control of Adana, a Turkish vehicle inspection firm (notified Sept. 1/deadline Oct. 6/simplified)

OCT 9

-- German semiconductor maker Infineon Technologies AG and South Korean counterpart LS Industrial System Co Ltd take joint control of LS Power Semitech Co Ltd, a new joint venture to make and market molded intelligent power modules used in consumer applications (notified Sept. 4/deadline Oct. 9/simplified)

-- British investment fund RREEF Pan-European Infrastructure Fund LP, managed by Germany's Deutsche Bank; energy group BP Plc; Spanish diversified company Ente Vasco De La Energia EVE; and Repsol YPF SA, a Spanish petroleum firm, acquire joint control of Bahia De Bizkaia Gas SL, a liquid natural gas regasification company in Spain, currently jointly controlled by Spain's Iberdrola SA, BP, EVE and Repsol (notified Sept. 4/deadline Oct. 9)

OCT 13

-- German electricity and natural gas supplier E.ON to acquire from Belgian counterpart Electrabel, which is part of GDF Suez, sole control over two power plants and drawing rights for electricity capacity in Belgium and the Netherlands (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13)

OCT 16

-- Swiss human resources and recruitment services firm Adecco to acquire British counterpart Spring Group (notified Sept. 11/deadline Oct. 16)

-- Belgian energy firm Electrabel, belonging to the French GDF Suez Group, to acquire sole control of certain power plants and drawing rights for electricity capacity in Germany from German electricity and natural gas firm E.ON (notified Sept. 11/deadline Oct. 16)

OCT 19

-- U.S. pipes, valves, fittings and related products distributor McJunkin, controlled by the Goldman Sachs Group, to acquire Dutch counterpart Transmark (notified Sept. 14/deadline Oct. 19/simplified)

OCT 20

-- SNCF-Participations, belonging to French state-owned railway group SNCF, and Caisse de Depot et de Placement du Quebec, a manager of pension and insurance funds mainly in Quebec, take joint control of public transport operator Keolis and Effia, a provider of services to facilitate passenger mobility (notified Sept. 15/deadline Oct. 20)

OCT 21

-- Dutch heating products maker De Dietrich Remeha Holding BV acquires control of British counterpart Baxi Holdings Ltd (notified Sept. 16/deadline Oct. 21)

OCT 22

-- U.S. private equity firm Advent International Corp acquires control of parts of the Median group of healthcare companies (notified Sept. 17/deadline Oct. 22/simplified)

-- British investment fund RREEF Pan-European Infrastructure Fund LP, managed by Germany's Deutsche Bank; Spanish energy supplier Endesa Generacion SA, controlled by Italian energy group Enel SpA; and Spanish gas supplier Union Fenosa Gas UFG SA, a joint venture between Union Fenosa SA UNF.SG and Italian energy firm ENI SpA, acquire joint control of Planta De Regasification De Sagunto SA (SAGGAS), a liquid natural gas regasification company in Spain, currently controlled jointly by Spain's Iberdrola SA, UFG and Endesa (notified Sept. 17/deadline Oct. 22)

OCT 23

-- U.S. asset management and financial advisory company Blackstone Group and British real estate investment firm British Land Co Plc acquire joint control of Broadgate Estate, a UK holder of 17 London properties (notified Sept. 18/deadline Oct. 23/simplified)

-- Jersey Island-based private equity funds Investindustrial LP; Investindustrial IV LP together known as Investindustrial Funds and Alpha Private Equity Fund V also of Jersey-Channel Island, acquire joint control of Italian construction, interior design and architecture firm Permasteelisa SpA (notified Sept. 18/deadline Oct. 23/simplified)

-- U.S. pharmaceutical group Merck & Co Inc enter into a full merger with U.S. healthcare company Schering Plough Corp (notified Sept.18/deadline Oct. 23)

OCT 26

-- Belgian telecoms operator Belgacom acquires Belgacom International Carrier Services SA (BICS), a global provider of voice, data and value-added telecoms services. These include services currently carried out by BICS as a joint venture between Belgacom and Swisscom Belgium SA and international wholesale telecommunications activities MTN-ICS, which will be acquired from MTN Dubai Ltd as a result of the transaction (notified Sept. 21/deadline Oct. 26)

OCT 28

-- French electricity firm Electricite De France SA, belonging to EDF Group acquires Belgian electricity supplier SPE SA, through the acquisition of shares held by Belgium's Segebel SA which owns a 51-percent stake in SPE. (notified Sept. 23/deadline Oct. 28)

SECOND-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE:

-- U.S. software maker Oracle Corp to acquire the whole of computer hardware maker Sun Microsystems Inc (notified Aug. 3/deadline Sept. 3/in-depth investigation opened on Sept. 3/new deadline Jan. 19, 2010)

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 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.