BRUSSELS, Nov 19 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process:
APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS
-- Private equity firm Advent to acquire German consumer goods retailer Douglas Holding (approved Nov. 19)
-- Chinese refiner Sinopec Corp to set up a joint venture with Canadian oil and gas exploration company Talisman Energy Inc (approved Nov. 19)
NEW LISTINGS
-- Walt Disney Co to buy Lucasfilm (notified Nov. 16/deadline Dec. 21)
-- Czech energy group EPH to acquire Slovak gas transport and distribution company SPP from French energy company Gaz de France and Germany's E.ON (notified Nov. 16/deadline Dec. 21/simplified)
-- Mittal Investments, which is owned by Indian steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, to buy French cement maker Lafarge and miner Anglo American's British assets (notified Nov. 16/deadline Dec. 21/simplified)
-- U.S. communications company Syniverse Technologies to buy Luxembourg-based communications services company Mach (notified Nov. 16/deadline Dec. 21)
-- Swiss speciality chemicals maker Clariant and Singaporean palm oil company Wilmar to set up a joint venture (notified Nov. 16/deadline Dec. 21/simplified)
-- Private equity firm Bridgepoint Advisers Group and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to aquire joint control of sports management company Dorna (notified Nov. 15/deadline Dec. 20/simplified)
EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES
None
FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE
NOV 20
-- U.S. appliance maker Whirlpool to acquire more shares in German kitchen manufacturer Alno (notified Oct. 12/deadline Nov. 20)
NOV 22
-- Commodities trader Glencore to acquire miner Xstrata (notified Oct. 2/deadline extended to Nov. 22 from Nov. 8 after Glencore offered commitments)
NOV 23
-- U.S. industrial manufacturer Eaton Corp to acquire U.S. electrical equipment maker Cooper Industries Plc (notified Oct. 17/deadline Nov. 23)
NOV 27
-- Swedish packaging companies Kinnevik and Billerud to merge (notified Oct. 5/deadline extended to Nov. 27 from Nov. 13 after Kinnevik submitted commitments)
-- French rail company SNCF, and Austrian investment companies Haselsteiner Familien-Privatstiftung and Augusta Holding to acquire joint control of Austria's Rail Holding which manages Austrian rail transport company WESTbahn Management GmbH(notified Oct. 19/deadline Nov. 27/simplified)
NOV 29
-- Private equity firm PAI Partners to buy Italian eyewear maker Marcolin (notified Oct. 23/deadline Nov. 29/simplified)
-- Canadian auto parts maker Magna International Inc to purchase German car hydraulic pump manufacturer Ixetic Verwaltungs GmbH (notified Oct. 23/deadline Nov. 29)
-- U.S. conglomerate Koch Industries to buy 44 percent of U.S. glass products manufacturer Guardian Industries Corp (notified Oct. 23/deadline Nov. 29/simplified)
-- Dutch bank ABN AMRO, Dutch investment firm Rabo Investments and holding company Vecelia Investments B.V. to acquire joint control of clothing wholesaler HVEG Investments B.V. (notified Oct. 23/deadline Nov. 29)
NOV 30
-- German retail and travel group Rewe Touristik GmbH to buy Czech tour operator Exim Holding SA (notified Oct. 24/deadline Nov. 30)
-- Private equity fund LBO France Gestion SAS to acquire ground handling services company AviaPartner (notified Oct. 24/deadline Nov. 30)
DEC 7
-- French rail company SNCF Participations and Dutch company Strukton Rail BV to acquire joint control of Dutch holding company Europool BV (notified Oct. 31/deadline Dec. 7/simplified)
-- Finnish paper firm Ahlstrom to combine its label and processing business unit with Swedish peer Munksjo, which is partly owned by investment fund EQT (notified Oct. 31/deadline Dec. 7)
DEC 10
-- Private equity firm Advent International to buy technology services provider KMD Equity Holding (notified Nov. 5/deadline Dec. 10/simplified)
-- Private equity fund Trilantic Capital Partners and International Cable Holdings, which is owned by private equity firm Investindustrial, to acquire a 48 percent stake in Spanish telecoms operator Euskaltel, which is owned by Spanish savings bank Kutxabank (notified Nov. 5/deadline Dec. 10/simplified)
DEC 11
-- Finnish steelmaker Rautaruukki and private equity firm CapMan to set up a joint venture (notified Nov. 6/deadline Dec. 11)
-- Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners to buy a majority stake in insurance claims management company Cunningham Lindsey Group (notified Nov. 6/deadline Dec. 11)
-- Private equity firm LBO France Gestion to acquire indirect control of Blue Holding Luxembourg which is the holding company of printing solutions provide Euro Druckservice Group (notified Nov. 6/deadline Dec. 11/simplified)
DEC 12
-- French conglomerate Bollore to increase its stake in French advertising company Havas (notified Nov. 7/deadline Dec. 12/simplified)
-- A group of investors led by private equity firm Bain Capital to buy Spanish outsourcing services company Attento from Spanish telecoms operator Telefonica (notified Oct. 29/deadline Dec. 12/simplified)
DEC 13
-- Danish marine fuel supplier O.W. Bunker to acquire Norwegian fuel trader Bergen Bunkers and its subsidiary Bergen Bunkers Neva LCC from current owner M7 Bunkers (notified Nov. 8/deadline Dec. 13)
DEC 14
-- British bank Barclays and Goldman Sachs to acquire joint control of gardening and pet care product distributor Gardman Holdings Ltd (notified Nov. 9/deadline Dec. 14/simplified)
-- Private investment fund American Securities LLC to buy car parts maker Metaldyne (notified Nov. 9/deadline Dec. 14/simplified)
DEC 17
-- Qatar Holdings, the finance arm of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, to acquire part of a stake held by Spanish infrastructure company Ferrovial in British airport operator BAA Ltd (notified Nov. 12/deadline Dec. 17)
-- Chinese state-owned oil company CNOOC Ltd to acquire Canadian upstream oil and gas company Nexen (notified Nov. 12/deadline Dec. 17/simplified)
DEC 18
-- French outdoor advertising specialist JCDecaux to acquire a stake in Dutch outdoor advertising company Russ Out Of Home which is active in Russia (notified Nov. 13/deadline Dec. 18/simplified)
DEC 19
-- Canadian private equity company Onex Corp to buy German plastics machinery maker KraussMaffei AG (notified Nov. 14/deadline Dec. 19)
-- German agricultural cooperative Baywa to buy Dutch grains trader Cefetra (notified Nov. 14/deadline Dec. 19)
-- U.S.-based casting products maker Precision Castparts Corp to buy U.S. maker of alloys for jet engines Titanium Metals (notified Nov. 14/deadline Dec. 19)
DEC 21
-- Hong Kong's Hutchison 3G, which is part of Hutchison Whampoa, to acquire telecoms operator Orange Austria from France Telecom (notified May 7/deadline extended for the fourth time to Dec. 21 from Nov. 30 Hutchison 3G offers additional concessions)
JAN 15
-- U.S. mail delivery company United Parcel Service Inc to acquire Dutch peer TNT Express (notified June 15/deadline extended for the fourth time to Jan. 15 from Dec. 20 after the European Commission asked for more time)
FEB 6
-- Ryanair to acquire Aer Lingus (notified July 24/deadline extended for the second time to Feb. 6 from Jan. 14)
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.
