VENTURE CAPITAL POST

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

APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS

-- French insurer Euler Hermes and Spanish insurer Mapfre to set up a joint venture (approved Sept. 20)

NEW LISTINGS

None

EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES

None

FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE

SEPT 20

-- Austrian energy company Verbund and German engineering group Siemens to set up a joint venture to provide electric mobility services in Austria (notified Aug. 16/deadline Sept. 20)

SEPT 21

-- French engineering company Alstom and French sovereign fund FSI to acquire joint control of French tramway maker Translohr (notified Aug. 17/deadline Sept. 21)

-- U.S. electronic parts distributor Avnet to buy German distributor of data center services Magirus (notified Aug. 17/deadline Sept. 21)

SEPT 27

-- Vivendi's Universal Music Group to buy British record label EMI's recorded music unit from Citigroup Inc (notified Feb. 17/deadline extended for the third time to Sept. 27 from Sept. 6 after Universal offers remedies)

SEPT 28

-- Danish dairy co-operative Arla Foods to acquire British co-operative Milk Link (notified Aug. 9/deadline extended to Sept. 28 from Sept. 14 after Arla Foods submitted commitments)

-- Danish dairy co-operative Arla Foods to acquire German co-operative Milch-Union Hocheifel (notified Aug. 24/deadline Sept. 28)

OCT 1

-- Hong Kong property developer Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd and Power Asset Holdings Ltd to buy British gas company Wales and West Utilities (notified Aug. 27/deadline Oct. 1/simplified)

OCT 5

-- U.S. drugmaker Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc to buy Swiss peer Actavis Group (notified Aug. 31/deadline Oct. 5)

OCT 8

-- Rail logistics companies Comsa Rail Transport, Naviland Cargo and Grupo Logistico Sese to set up a Spanish joint venture (notified Sept. 3/deadline Oct. 8/simplified)

OCT 11

-- Private equity firms Carlyle and BC Partners to acquire U.S. industrial pumps maker Hamilton Sundstrand Industrial which is owned by United Technologies Corp (notified Sept. 6/deadline Oct. 11/simplified)

OCT 12

-- Private equity firm Carlyle Group LP to buy photo agency Getty Images Inc from private equity firm Hellman & Friedman LLC (notified Sept. 7/deadline Oct. 12/simplified)

-- U.S. technology distributor Ingram Micro Inc to acquire rival BrightPoint Inc (notified Sept. 7/deadline Oct. 12)

OCT 15

-- Austrian engineer Andritz to purchase German peer Schuler (notified Sept. 10/deadline Oct. 15)

OCT 22

-- OAO VTB Bank and Corporate Commercial Bank to acquire Bulgarian mobile operator Bulgarian Telecommunications Co (BTC) (notified Sept. 17/deadline Oct. 22/simplified)

OCT 24

-- Finnish group Outokumpu to acquire German group ThyssenKrupp's Inoxum stainless steel unit (notified April 10/deadline extended for the second time to Oct. 24 from Sept. 26 after the companies asked for more time)

NOV 30

-- 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 third time to Nov. 30 from Nov. 27 to allow a market test of Hutchison 3G's 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.

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