EU mergers and takeovers (Feb 9)

BRUSSELS, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission, and a brief guide to the EU merger process:
APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS:
-- Slovakian construction firm Doprastav a.s., belonging to the DDM Group, and Czech construction services provider Ceskomoravsky beton a.s. take joint control of a Slovakian maker and distributor of ready-mixed concrete, TBG Doprastav a.s. (approved Feb. 9)
-- Italian cruise ship operator Costa Crociere SpA, controlled by the U.S. Carnival Corp; and Swiss cruise ship operator MSC Crociere SA, controlled by Mediterranean Shipping Company Holding SA, take joint control of Marseille Provence Cruise Terminal SAS, a newly created French venture that manages a cruise terminal in Marseille (approved Feb. 9)
NEW LISTINGS:
-- Austrian construction and building materials firm Strabag SE and German counterpart Kemna Bau Andreae GmbH & Co KG to take joint control of German peer Hermann Wellmann Tiefbau GmbH & Co KG (notified Feb. 2/deadline March 9/simplified)
EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES:
None
FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE:
FEB 12
-- Dutch financial services group Rabobank International Holding BV acquires sole control of Poland's Bank Gospodarki Zywnosciowej SA, which specialises in providing banking services to rural areas. The bank was jointly controlled by Rabobank and the state treasury of Poland (notified Jan. 8/deadline Feb. 12/simplified)
FEB 17
-- Mubadala Development Corporation PJSC, a United Arab Emirates direct principal investments firm, and Rolls-Royce plc , a British turbine maker, acquire joint control of JVCO, a United Arab Emirates supplier of aftermarket services for large commercial aircraft engines (notified Jan. 13/deadline Feb. 17)
FEB 18
-- Japanese electronics maker Hitachi Ltd to acquire control of part of Japanese power-driven tools manufacturer Hitachi Koki Co Ltd (notified Jan. 14/deadline Feb. 18/simplified)
-- French cosmetic and hygiene products firm Johnson & Johnson Consumer France, controlled by U.S. Johnson & Johnson group, acquires French feminine protection products companies Vania and Polive as well as activities in Belgium and Luxembourg of French feminine protection products company Georgia Pacific France (notified Jan. 14/deadline Feb. 18)
-- Venture capital firm Citi Infrastructure Partners, controlled by U.S. Citigroup, to acquire part of the Spanish infrastructure undertaking Itinere Infraestructuras (notified Jan. 14/deadline Feb. 18/simplified)
FEB 20
-- French capital investment firm Serendipity Investment SAS, controlled by Bouygues Group and Financiere Pinault Group, and French TV sports broadcaster Eurosport SA, controlled by Bouygues Group, take joint control of French undertaking SPS (notified Jan. 16/deadline Feb. 20/simplified)
FEB 23
-- U.S. health care products firm Abbott seeks to acquire U.S. eye health care products firm Advanced Medical Optics (notified Jan. 19/deadline Feb. 23/simplified)
FEB 25
-- French banking and insurance products and services provider Credit Mutuel to acquire French consumer credit products and services provider Cofidis (notified Jan. 21/deadline Feb. 25)
FEB 26
-- German chemical products company BASF SE to acquire Swiss specialty chemicals firm Ciba Holding (notified Jan. 22/deadline Feb. 26)
-- Czech electricity company CEZ and Turkish energy and chemicals firm Akkok acquire joint control of Turkish electricity company Akenerji Elektrik Uretim. Subsequently, CEZ and Akkok acquire joint control of Turkish electricity company Sedas (notified Jan. 22/deadline Feb. 26/simplified)
-- German automaker Daimler AG takes joint control of Li-Tec, a German lithium-ion battery cell research and development firm currently controlled by German industrial conglomerate Evonik Industries AG (notified Jan. 22/deadline Feb. 26/simplified)
FEB 27
-- J. Aron & Co, controlled by the U.S. Goldman Sachs Group , to acquire control of substantially all the assets of the international commodities business of U.S. Constellation Energy Commodities Group (notified Jan. 23/deadline Feb. 27/simplified)
-- United Arab Emirates investment firm International Petroleum Investment Co to acquire German industrial services provider MAN Ferrostaal AG (notified Jan. 23/deadline Feb. 27)
MARCH 2
-- U.S. private equity fund One Equity Partners II LP, controlled by JPMorgan Chase & Co, to acquire U.S. carbon black producer Columbian Chemicals Holding LLC (notified Jan. 26/deadline March 2/simplified)
-- Italian helicopter maker Agusta SpA and CAE Aviation Training BV, a Dutch provider of aerospace simulator technology, acquire joint control over Italian flight simulator operator Rotorsim Srl (notified Jan. 26/deadline March 2/simplified)
MARCH 3
-- Czech private equity firm Penta Holding Ltd to acquire Polish windows and glass doors maker Okna Rabien (notified Jan. 27/deadline March 3/simplified)
-- U.S. entertainment company NBC Universal, controlled by General Electric; Luxembourg film distributor De Agostini Communications, controlled by De Agostini SpA of Italy; and Italian equity investments company IMI Investimenti SpA, controlled by Intesa Sanpaolo SpA of Italy, acquire joint control of Italian film and TV production firm Cattleya SpA (notified Jan. 27/deadline March 3/simplified)
MARCH 5
-- German pharmaceuticals firm Sanacorp to acquire German peer v.d. Linde (notified Jan. 29/deadline March 5)
-- U.S. aluminium producer Alcoa to acquire Norwegian peer Elkem Aluminium ANS (notified Jan. 29/deadline March 5/simplified)
MARCH 6
-- Norwegian conglomerate Orkla acquires control of the whole of Sapa AB, a Swedish maker of soft alloy extrusions (notified Jan. 30/deadline March 6/simplified)
-- Italian toll road operator Atlantia SpA and Spanish infrastructure firm Acciona acquire joint control of the Chilean toll motorway assets of Spain's Itinere (notified Jan. 30/deadline March 6/simplified)
-- Danish shipping company Vesterhavet A/S and Danish freight forwarder DSV A/S to acquire joint control of Danish sea shipping company DFDS A/S (notified Jan. 30/deadline March 6/simplified)
MARCH 10
-- France's Dassault Aviation and French holding company TSA, controlled by the French state, acquire joint control of French defence electronics firm Thales (notified Feb. 3/deadline March 10)
SECOND-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE
-- German airline Lufthansa AG to acquire Belgian air transport company SN Airholding SA/NV, which controls Brussels Airlines (notified Nov. 26/deadline Jan. 12/extended on Jan. 6/new deadline Jan. 26/in-depth probe opened Jan. 27/deadline June 10)
-- Sweden's Bonnier AB and Norway's Schibsted ASA, both international media groups, acquire joint control of Retriever Sverige AB, a supplier of digital media monitoring, archives and business intelligence services in Sweden (notified Dec. 15/deadline Jan. 29/in-depth probe opened Jan. 29/deadline June 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 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.