BRUSSELS, Jan 15 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process:
APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS
-- U.S. drinks can maker Ball Corp (N:BLL) BLL.N to acquire British rival Rexam Plc REX.L (approved on Jan. 15)
-- TDR Capital investment funds taking joint control of British fuel station operator Euro Garages (approved on Jan. 15)
NEW LISTINGS
-- McKesson (N:MCK) MCK.N to acquire certain businesses, notably pharmaceutical wholesaling in UK and Ireland, from UDG Healthcare UDG.L (notified Jan. 14/deadline Feb. 18)
-- U.S. buyout firm Carlyle Group CG.O to acquiree Italian customer services group Comdata (notified Jan. 13/deadline Feb. 17/simplified)
EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES
None
FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE
JAN 12
-- Oilfield services provider Halliburton (N:HAL) HAL.N to buy rival Baker Hughes BHI.N in a stock and cash transaction (notified Nov. 27/deadline Jan. 12)
JAN 19
-- Spanish travel technology company Amadeus AMA.MC to acquire airline technology services Navitaire which is a subsidiary of Accenture Plc ACN.N (notified Dec. 4/deadline Jan. 19)
JAN 20
-- Creation of a joint venture between Lov Group Invest SAS and De Agostini for the production and distribution of content for television and multimedia platforms (notified Dec 7/deadline Jan. 20)
JAN 22
-- Investment bank Goldman Sachs (N:GS) GS.N and private equity firm Astorg Asset Management to jointly acquire French drugmaker HRA Pharma IPO-LABOR.PA (notified Dec. 9/deadline Jan. 22/simplified)
-- Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 7011.T to acquire Japanese forklift maker Unicarriers Holdings (notified Dec. 9/deadline Jan. 22/simplified)
JAN 25
-- German wind turbine maker Nordex NDXG.DE to acquire Spanish firm Acciona's ANA.MC wind power business (notified Dec. 10/deadline Jan. 25/simplified)
JAN 26
-- Belgian insurer Ageas AGES.BR to acquire French insurer Axa's AXAF.PA Portuguese operations (notified Dec. 11/deadline Jan. 26/simplified)
JAN 29
-- Steelmaker ArcelorMittal ISPA.AS and a group made up of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria BBVA.MC , Banco de Sabadell SABE.MC , Banco Santander SAN.MC , Banco Popular Espanol POP.MC , Bankia BKIA.MC , Caixabank CABK.MC , Bankinter caja BKT.MC , Caja Rural de Navarra CARUN.UL and Kutxabank BKGDT.UL to jointly acquire steel tube maker Grupo Condesa (notified Dec. 16/deadline Jan. 29)
FEB 1
-- Canadian fund CDPQ to acquire 30 percent stake in Bombardier's BBDb.TO rail transportation business for $1.5 billion (notified Dec. 17/deadline Feb. 1)
FEB 2
-- Investment fund CVC Capital Partners Ltd CVC.UL to buy 40 percent stake in motorway services provider Moto with UK private sector pension fund USS (notified Dec. 18/deadline Feb. 2/simplified)
-- Canada's Alimentation Couche Tard to acquire Topaz Energy Group Limited (notified Dec. 18/deadline Feb. 2/simplified)
-- Spain's Red Electrica Corporacion's Chilean subsidiary and Engie ENGIE.PA to take joint control of TEN (notified Dec. 18/deadline Feb. 2/simplified)
-- Dutch provider of temporary employment services Randstad RAND.AS to acquire Sweden's Proffice PROEb.ST (notified Dec. 18/deadline Feb. 2/simplified)
-- U.S. buyout firm Carlyle Group CG.O to buy Dutch lingerie firm Hunkemoller from its private equity owners (notified Jan. 8/deadline Feb. 2/simplified)
FEB 4
-- U.S.-based Computer developer Western Digital (O:WDC) to acquire outstanding shares of SanDisk (O:SNDK), designer of data storage products. (notified on Dec. 22/deadline Feb. 4)
-- Mannai Corporation to buy majority stake in France-based provider of information technology Gfi Informatique GFIP.PA from Apax Partners, LLP and Boussard & Gavaudan Holding Limited BGHLC.AS (notified on Dec. 22/deadline Feb. 4/simplified)
-- Formation of Chinese metal producing and distributing joint venture between Gonvarri Corporacion Financiera, part of Spain's Acek Desarollo y Gestion Industrial, and Dongguan Summit Metal Products Co, part of a Japanese group headed by Sumitomo Corp 8053.T (notified on Dec. 22/deadline Feb. 4/simplified)
FEB 5
-- Oilfield services company Schlumberger to buy equipment maker Cameron International (N:CAM) (notified on Dec. 23/deadline Feb. 5)
FEB 8
-- Indian IT services company HCL Technologies HCLT.NS to acquire Swedish automaker Volvo's VOLVb.ST external IT business (notified on Jan. 4/deadline Feb. 8/simplified)
-- Pension funds USS Nero Limited of Britain, OPSEU Pension Plan Trust Fund of Canada and PGGM N.V. of the Netherlands to acquire Spanish infrastructure firm Global Vía Infraestructuras from Bankia BKT.MC and FCC FCC.MC (notified on Jan. 4/deadline Feb. 8)
FEB 9
-- La Compagnie des Cartes Carburant, majority owned by Edenred (PA:EDEN), to form joint venture in company fuel cards with Union Tank Eckstein, in which Edenred also has a stake (notified on Jan. 5/deadline Feb 9/simplified)
FEB 10
-- BP BP.L is reorganising its Ruhr Oel refining joint venture in Germany, under which it will get 100 percent of the Gelsenkirchen refinery (notified on Jan. 6/deadline Feb 10/simplified)
FEB 11
-- Dental supply maker DENTSPLY XRAY.O to acquire control of the whole of Sirona Dental Systems SIRO.O (notified Jan.7/deadline Feb.11)
FEB 12
-- Airbus Safran Launchers, a 50/50 joint venture between Airbus AIR.PA and Safran SAF.PA , to acquire sole control over satellite group Arianespace (notified on Jan. 8/deadline Feb. 12)
-- Swiss-based investment group Cofra Holding AG to acquire sole control over German company Hans und Ottmar Binder-Group, which offers trims for vehicles (notified on Jan. 8/deadline Feb. 12/simplified)
-- U.S. video game maker Activision Blizzard ATVI.O to acquire Dublin-based "Candy Crush Saga" creator King Digital Entertainment KING.N (notified on Jan. 8/deadline Feb. 12)
-- Hammerson and Allianz (DE:ALVG) Group to form joint venture acquisition of loan porfolio secured against 1.85 billion euros of property in Dundrum Town Centre, Dublin (notified on Jan. 8/deadline Feb. 12/simplified)
FEB 15
-- Goldman Sachs GS.N to acquire UK human resources software company Northgate NGA from owner KKR KKR.N in a debt for equity swap (notified Jan. 11/deadline Feb. 15/simplified)
-- British Private equity investor Cinven CINV.UL to acquire Munich Re's MUVGn.DE Italian insurance unit Ergo Italia (notified Jan. 11/deadline Feb. 15/simplified)
FEB 16
-- German wind turbine maker Nordex NDXG.DE to acquire Spanish firm Acciona's ANA.MC wind power business (approved on Jan. 13)
-- Macquarie infrastructure investment fund MEIF4 to buy a 49 percent stake in Italian hydropower company Hydro Dolomiti Enel from Enel ENEI.MI (notified Jan. 12/deadline Feb. 16/simplified)
-- Beauty products company Coty COTY.N to acquire 43 brands from Procter & Gamble PG.N (notified Jan. 12/deadline Feb. 16)
FEB 17
-- U.S. buyout firm Carlyle Group CG.O to acquiree Italian customer services group Comdata (notified Jan. 13/deadline Feb. 17/simplified)
FEB 18
-- McKesson MCK.N to acquire certain businesses, notably pharmaceutical wholesaling in UK and Ireland, from UDG Healthcare UDG.L (notified Jan. 14/deadline Feb. 18)
NEW LISTINGS
MARCH 3
-- Cable telecoms company Liberty Global's LBTYA.O Belgian subsidiary Telenet TNET.BR to buy mobile network operator Base from Dutch group KPN KPN.AS (notified Aug. 17/deadline extended to March 17 from March 3)
MARCH 9
-- U.S. office supplier Staples SPLS.O to acquire U.S. rival Office Depot ODP.O (notified Aug. 21/deadline extended for the third time to March 9 from March 2 after the companies asked for more time)
APRIL 22
-- Hutchison Whampoa 0001.HK to acquire Telefonica's TEF.MC O2 UK subsidiary (notified Sept. 11/deadline extended for the fifth time to April 22 from April 18)
SUSPENDED
-- SOCAR, Azerbaijan's state energy company, to buy stakes in Greek natural gas grid operator DESFA from Greek natural gas utility 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 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.