EU merger reviews at a glance outlook

        BRUSSELS (Thomson Financial) - The following mergers and joint-venture
agreements have been notified to the European Commission for regulatory
clearance:

RECENT NOTIFICATIONS

Aug 6 -Proposed acquisition by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. of LEG (Candidate for
simplified procedure)

REFERRAL TO CZECH AUTHORITIES

July 3 -Proposed acquisition by REWE of Plus Discount

PHASE ONE INVESTIGATIONS

July 4 -Proposed acquisition by BHP Billiton of Rio Tinto

July 10 -Proposed acquisition by Danfoss AS. for sole control of Sauer-Danfoss
Inc. (Candidate for simplified procedure)

July 11 -Proposed acquisition by Lesaffre of GB Ingredients

July 14 -Proposed acquisition by Berkshire Hathaway, Munich RE of stakes in GAUM

July 15 -Proposed acquisition by Strabag of Kirchhoff stake 
        -Proposed acquisition by Danisco of Abitec 
        -Proposed joint venture between Dupont, Danisco (Candidate for
simplified procedure)
        -Proposed joint acquisition by Shell and BP's AFS of GlobeFuel
(Candidate for simplified procedure)

July 16 -Proposed acquisition by Investor of 50 percent stake in Lindorff Group
(Candidate for simplified procedure)

July 17 -Proposed merger between Friesland Foods, Campina
        -Proposed acquisition by Pernod Ricard of Vin & Spirit

July 18 -Proposed acquisition by Stena Adactum of Ballingslov (Candidate for
simplified procedure)

July 22 -Proposed acquisition by Altor Fund II of Akers Group (Candidate for
simplified procedure)

July 23 -Proposed acquisition by Porsche AG. of Volkswagen AG.
        -Proposed acquisition by Arsenal Capital Partners of DSP
        -Proposed acquisition by PAG Acquisitions Ltd. of Partnership Group
Holdings Limited

July 24 -Proposed acquisition by Arcapita of Freightliner (Candidate for
simplified procedure)

July 25 -Proposed acquisition by Hewlett Packard Co. of Electronic Data Systems
Corp.
        -Proposed acquisition by Outokumpu Oyj. of SoGePar

July 28 -Proposed merger between Mars Inc., Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co.
        Proposed merger joint venture between UPM's RUS Holding, B.R.I.S.T.

July 29 -Proposed merger between Delta, Northwest Airlines

July 30 -Proposed acquisition by Ramius of Phoenix Technologies
        -Proposed acquisition by CapMan of Alberto-Culver unit    

July 31 -Proposed acquisition by Banco Santander SA. of General Electric Co.
Money's businesses in Germany, Finland and Austria (Candidate for simplified
procedure)
        -Proposed acquisition by General Electric Co. commercial finance unit's
of Banco Santander SA.'s Interbanca (Candidate for simplified procedure)
        -Proposed acquisition by Vion of Grampian
        -Proposed acquisition by Wistron Corp. of LTC's LCD business (Candidate
for simplified procedure)
        -Proposed acquisition by Ineos of BASF assets
        -Proposed joint venture between Siemens, Ortner

Aug 1 -Proposed acquisition by Cinven of Jost Holding

Aug 4 -Proposed acquisition by Carlyle of De La Rue Cash Systems business
(Candidate for simplified procedure)
      -Proposed joint venture between Empik, HDS

Aug 6 -Proposed acquisition by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. of LEG (Candidate for
simplified procedure)

The commission launches first-phase inquiries into all deals that meet EU merger
thresholds. These inquiries last one month but are extended by two weeks when
companies offer remedies or when a national competition authority asks to rule
on the deal. A deal that is not expected to raise competition concerns may be
submitted as a candidate for the EU's simplified merger procedure, a reduced
regulatory process. The commission is entitled to transform a simplified inquiry
into a full first-phase inquiry.

IN-DEPTH SECOND-PHASE INVESTIGATIONS

Sept 9 - Proposed acquisition by Itema of Barco NV's Barcovision 

Sept 18 -Proposed acquisition by OMV A.G. of MOL

Sept 25 -Proposed acquisition by A.B. Foods of GBI operations

Oct 15 -Proposed acquisition by Alo of MX 

The commission opens in-depth probes lasting up to four months if competition
concerns cannot be resolved during the first-phase inquiry.
nina.chestney@thomsonreuters.com
sz/ak/nc/slm/nc/ms1/nc/rfw/nc/ak

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