BRUSSELS, April 1 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process:
APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS
-- AR Packaging Group to buy U.S. packaging company MeadWestvaco Corp's European tobacco and general packaging folding carton operations (approved March 31)
-- Bermuda-based insurance holding company Athene Holding Ltd, which is controlled by private investment firm Apollo, to acquire Dutch insurer Delta Lloyd's German subsidiaries (approved March 31)
-- German publishers Holtzbrinck Publishing Group and Springer Science+Business Media, which is owned by private equity investor BC Partners, to set up a joint venture (approved March 31)
-- German refiner Varo Energy Holding GmbH to acquire German oil products distributor Gekol (approved March 31)
NEW LISTINGS
-- Japanese electronics group Hitachi to acquire Italian train maker AnsaldoBreda and its rail-signalling company Ansaldo STS from Italian aerospace and defence group Finmeccanica (notified March 31/deadline May 11/simplified)
EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES
None
FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE
APRIL 8
-- Norwegian telecoms company Telenor and Swedish peer TeliaSonera to combine their Danish mobile businesses (notified Feb. 27/deadline April 8)
APRIL 9
-- U.S. flooring products maker Mohawk Industries Inc to acquire Luxembourg-based International Flooring Systems (notified March 2/deadline April 9)
APIRL 10
-- Chinese state-owned steelmaker Hebei Iron & Steel Group to acquire a controlling stake in Swiss steel product trader from DPH Duferco International Trading Holding (notified March 3/deadline April 10/simplified)
APRIL 14
-- German insurer Allianz, Canadian investment fund manager Alberta Investment Management Corp and Utilities Trust of Australia to acquire joint control of railway rolling stock producer Porterbrook (notified March 5/deadline April 14/simplified)
APRIL 15
-- Private equity firm Riverstone and British bank Barclays to jointly acquire oil producer Origo (notified March 6/deadline April 15/simplified)
APRIL 16
-- Hong Kong's Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Ltd to purchase British rail rolling stock company Eversholt Rail (notified March 9/deadline April 16/simplified)
APRIL 17
-- Spanish oil company Repsol to acquire Canadian oil and gas producer Talisman Energy Inc. (notified March 10/deadline April 17/simplified)
APRIL 20
-- Finnish ship engine and power plant maker Wartsila to buy navigation systems maker L-3 Marine Systems from L-3 Holding (notified March 11/deadline April 20/simplified)
-- Telecoms group Altice to acquire Brazilian peer Grupo Oi's Portuguese assets (notified Feb. 25/deadline April 20/concessions offered April 20/Portuguese competition authority asked to review the case on March 5)
APRIL 21
-- Private equity firms Ardian France and F2i SGR to acquire joint control of investor F2i Aeroporti which holds stakes in companies operating at Italian airports (notified March 12/deadline April 21)
APRIL 23
-- German industrial services group Bilfinger and merchandising and management services provider Papstar Holding AG to set up a joint venture (notified March 16/deadline April 23/simplified)
APRIL 27
-- U.S. bank Goldman Sachs and French property developer Altarea to jointly acquire French holding company Pascal Defense S.A.R.L. (notified March 18/deadline April 27/simplified)
-- Irish cement firm CRH to buy assets from merging companies Lafarge and Holcim (notified March 18/deadline April 27)
APRIL 28
-- Canadian public pension fund Caisse de Depot du Placement du Quebec and British asset manager Hermes to acquire 40 percent of British high-speed rail Eurostar International Ltd, which is 55 percent owned by French rail operator SNCF Mobilities (notified March 19/deadline April 28)
APRIL 29
-- Austrian property developer CA Immo to acquire control of Austrian peer Immofinanz (notified March 20/deadline April 29/simplified)
APRIL 30
-- German agricultural products distributor Baywa , German electric heating producer GlenDimplex and German energy software developer Greencom to acquire shares in energy services provider BEEGY GmbH (notified March 23/deadline April 30/simplified)
MAY 5
-- Qatari-backed investor Constellation Hotels to acquire InterContinental Hotels Group's flagship Le Grand hotel in Paris (notified March 25/deadline May 5/simplified)
-- U.S. conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway to acquire German motorcycle apparel and accessories retailer Detlev Louis Motrorrad-Vertriebs GmbH (notified March 25/deadline May 5/simplified)
MAY 7
-- MI Fashion Ltd and L Capital Asia 2 Pte Ltd to acquire joint control of clothing retailer Pepe Jeans Group (notified March 27/deadline May 7/simplified)
JUNE 1
-- French telecoms operator Orange to acquire Spanish provider Jazztel (notified Oct. 16/new deadline June 1 after Commission lifts deadline suspension)
-- Mondelez International Inc and competitor D.E Master Blenders to merge their coffee businesses in new company called Jacobs Douwe Egberts (notified Oct. 27/deadline extended for the fourth time to June 1 from May 13)
JUNE 26
-- PRS for Music Ltd (PRSfM), Foreningen Svenska Tonsattares Internationella Mysikbyra (Stim) and Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungs- und mechanische Vervielfältigungsrechte (Gema) to set up a joint venture to administer mechanical and performing rights (notified Nov. 28/deadline June 26/companies offer commitments on March 13)
JULY 8
-- Commodities trader Cargill to buy rival Archer Daniels Midland Co's global chocolate business (notified Jan. 19/deadline extended to July 8 from Feb. 23 after the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation)
AUG 6
-- U.S. conglomerate General Electric to acquire most of French engineering group Alstom's power equipment business (notified Jan. 19/deadline extended for the second time to Aug. 6 from July 8 after GE asked for more time)
SUSPENDED
-- German conglomerate Siemens to purchase U.S. oilfield equipment maker Dresser-Rand Group Inc (notified Jan. 9/deadline suspended on March 19 following a request for information)
-- 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.
