Neil Marshall

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st January 2002 and 30th April 2002"* The Commission cleared the proposed acquisition by Haniel Baustoff-Industrie Zuschlagstoffe GmbH of Fels-Werke GmbH, two German companies active in the building materials sector. The Commission examined carefully (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st January 2002 and 30th April 2002"* The Commission cleared the proposed acquisition of the French pet food company Royal Canin S.A. by Masterfoods Holding, a French subsidiary of Mars Inc.of the United States. Mars undertook to divest its (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st January 2002 and 30th April 2002"* The Commission’s own preliminary review of the case showed that the competition concerns were limited to the Danish market where Danish Crown and Steff-Houlberg are currently the two largest competitors. The (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st January 2002 and 30th April 2002"* On 30 January 2002 the Commission adopted a decision setting measures for the separation of the Swiss-based Tetra Laval from the French company Sidel through the divestiture of Tetra‘s shareholding in Sidel. This (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st January 2002 and 30th April 2002"* On 30 January 2002 the Commission decided on the arrangements for demerging Schneider Electric and Legrand, two French electrical equipment manufacturers whose merger was prohibited in 2001 on the grounds that it (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st January 2002 and 30th April 2002"* The Commission referred to the Norwegian Competition Authority the examination of the impact on the oil and gas markets of the proposed acquisition of the Anglo-Norwegian firm Kvaerner by Aker Maritime of Norway. (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st January 2002 and 30th April 2002"* The proposed acquisition of the French undertaking Cerestar by US company Cargill Inc. was cleared by the Commission with the exception of the deal’s impact in the UK market for sweeteners. The examination of (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st January 2002 and 30th April 2002"* The Commission authorised SEB to acquire sole control of Moulinex. Both are French companies manufacturing small electrical household appliances. The Commission has imposed the condition that SEB must not use the (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st September 2001 and 31st December 2001"* On 21 December 2001 The Commission approved the acquisition of the German oil and petrochemicals company DEA, which belongs to the RWE group, by Royal Dutch/Shell (UK/NL), and the combination of the (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st September 2001 and 31st December 2001"* Also on 21 December 2001, the Commission approved the acquisition of Saint Louis Sucre SA, France’s second-largest sugar manufacturer, by German sugar market leader Südzucker AG. Südzucker‘s acquisition of Saint (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st September 2001 and 31st December 2001"* The Commission approved the take-over of the Dutch credit insurance company NCM Holding N.V. (“NCM”) by German insurance company Gerling-Konzern Versicherungs-Beteiligungs AG (“Gerling”). The Commission’s review (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st September 2001 and 31st December 2001"* Shortly after the decisions were taken to open a Phase 2 investigation as well as to refer part of the Haniel/Fels case to the Bundeskartellamt, Haniel was involved in a case with Ytong which involved the (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st September 2001 and 31st December 2001"* The Commission approved, subject to conditions, the acquisition by Scandinavian banking group Nordea of sole control of Sweden’s Postgirot Bank AB, a financial services provider currently owned by Posten AB, (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st September 2001 and 31st December 2001"* The Commission cleared the proposed acquisition of joint control of Brazilian iron ore mining company Caemi by CVRD, another Brazilian iron ore producer, and Japanese trading company Mitsui, subject to (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st September 2001 and 31st December 2001"* On 30.10.2001 the Commission prohibited the acquisition by Tetra Laval B.V., which belongs to the Swiss-based Tetra Laval Group, the owner of the Tetra Pak packaging businesses, of the French company Sidel (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st September 2001 and 31st December 2001"* The European Commission prohibited the planned acquisition by CVC Capital Partners Group Ltd (CVC) of Lenzing AG, an Austrian man-made fibres manufacturer. CVC already controls Acordis, Lenzing’s principal (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st September 2001 and 31st December 2001"* On 17 October 2001 the Commission referred to the Bundeskartellamt the examination of the impact of part of the proposed acquisition by Haniel Baustoff-Industrie Zuschlagstoffe GmbH of Fels-Werke GmbH (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st September 2001 and 31st December 2001"* The proposed merger between Schneider Electric and Legrand, the two main French manufacturers of electrical equipment, was prohibited on 10 October 2001. The Commission’s investigation showed that there were (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st September 2001 and 31st December 2001"* The Commission approved the joint acquisition by Pirelli SpAand Edizione Holding SpA of the Olivetti SpA and indirectly of the undertakings controlled by the latter, namely Telecom Italia, which in turn owns (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st September 2001 and 31st December 2001"* The Commission referred to the Bundeskartellamt the examination of the impact in the downstream markets for refined oil products of a proposed joint venture between Deutsche BP and E.ON. The proposed (...)

"Merger control: main developments between 1 May and 31 August 2001"* The Commission on 23 August referred to the German Competition Authority the examination of the impact in the downstream market for oil products of a proposed joint venture between Deutsche and RWE-DEA. At the same time, the (...)

"Merger control: main developments between 1 May and 31 August 2001"* On 27 July, Swiss-based Nestlé made significant concessions in order to obtain a clearance for the acquisition of the American petfood company Ralston Purina. The conditions concerns Spain, Italy and Greece. In Spain, Nestlé (...)

"Merger control: main developments between 1 May and 31 August 2001"* In July, following an in-depth investigation under the Merger regulation, the Commission authorised the creation of a joint venture between De Beers and LVMH. This joint venture company, Rapids World, will be active in the (...)

"Merger control: main developments between 1 May and 31 August 2001"* On 20 July, the Commission agreed to a request from the UK authorities to refer to them the examination of the acquisition by the Newcastle-based Go-Ahead Group and Paris-based Keolis SA of joint control of London-based (...)

"Merger control: main developments between 1 May and 31 August 2001"* Following remedies offered by the parties concerned, the Commission on 19 July gave the go-ahead for the Allianz insurance group to take over Dresdner Bank. The Commission’s investigations focused on the consequences of the (...)

"Merger control: main developments between 1 May and 31 August 2001"* On 3 July, the Commission approved the acquisition by Hutchison Netherlands BV (Hutchison) and Rotterdam Municipal Port Management (RMPM) of the Rotterdam container terminal operator Europe Combined Terminals BV (ECT), (...)

"Merger control: main developments between 1 May and 31 August 2001"* The Commission on 26 June approved an operation by which Télédiffusion de France (TDF), a France Télécom subsidiary providing wireless solutions for broadcasters and telecom operators, acquires a controlling stake in Digita, the (...)

"Merger control: main developments between 1 May and 31 August 2001"* Following a thorough investigation, the European Commission on 20 June 2001 granted regulatory approval to the proposed takeover of Auwärter, the German company which makes the Neoplan buses and coaches, by the MAN group. The (...)

"Merger control: main developments between 1 May and 31 August 2001"* Subject to the divestiture the Commission approved the proposed acquisition by Industri Kapital Group of the chemical operations of Swedish company Perstorp AB. The divestiture concerns Industri Kapital‘s phenolic resins (...)

"Merger control: main developments between 1 May and 31 August 2001"* In May, the Commission approved the acquisition by Pernod Ricard SA of France and British-based Diageo Plc of the world-wide spirits and wine business of the Seagram Company Ltd Canada from France’s Vivendi Universal SA. (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st January 2001 and 30th April 2001"* In April, the Commission granted clearance to the proposed takeover of Samas‘ office supplies business by Buhrmann, subject to the divestiture of the Dutch office supplies activities of Corporate Express, a (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st January 2001 and 30th April 2001"* On 3 April the Commission decided to authorise the takeover of DaimlerChrysler‘s rail business division ADtranz by Bombardier of Canada, subject to commitments. As initially notified, the operation would have led (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st January 2001 and 30th April 2001"* In March, the Commission authorised the creation of two joint ventures with world-wide activities for outbound cross-border mail by The Post Office (TPO) of the United Kingdom, TNT Post Group N.V. (TPG) of the (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st January 2001 and 30th April 2001"* In March, the Commission gave the go-ahead for Degussa AG, a German-based company belonging to E.ON AG, to acquire sole control of the British company Laporte PLC. While both companies are active in the (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st January 2001 and 30th April 2001"* On 8 February 2001, the Commission decided to refer to the Finnish Competition Authority – Kilpailuvirasto – part of the examination of the impact of the proposed acquisition by Finland’s Metsäliitto Osuuskunta of a (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st January 2001 and 30th April 2001"* In February, the Commission authorised, subject to conditions, the acquisition of joint control of German electricity company Energie Baden-Württemberg AG (EnBW) by Electricité de France (EdF) and Zweckverband (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st January 2001 and 30th April 2001"* On 31 January 2001 the Court of First Instance (‘CFI’) annulled the Commission’s decision of 29 July 1998 (COMP/ECSC.1252) by which the Commission authorised the merger aspects of the restructuring of the German (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st January 2001 and 30th April 2001"* On 31 January 2001, the Commission blocked the proposed takeover of Finnish tissue paper manufacturer Metsä Tissue by its Swedish competitor SCA Mölnlycke on competition grounds. This was only the 14th time that (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st January 2001 and 30th April 2001"* At the end of January the Commission gave regulatory clearance to a proposed joint venture between British undertaking Smith & Nephew plc and Beiersdorf AG of Germany after the parties made substantial (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st January 2001 and 30th April 2001"* Following an in depth investigation, in January 2001 the Commission authorised the merger between Metso Corporation and Svedala AB, two Nordic companies with world-wide activities in the production and (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st January 2001 and 30th April 2001"* The Commission decided to refer to the Italian competition authorities – Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato – the examination of the impact of the proposed acquisition of Infostrada by Enel and France (...)

"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st January 2001 and 30th April 2001"* In January, the Commission authorised UAL Corp., whose principal operating subsidiary is United Airlines Inc., to acquire US Airways Group Inc. The Commission’s review showed that the operation could raise (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st September 2000 and 31st December 2000"* On 21st December 2000 the European Commission adopted a Notice on remedies acceptable to solve competition problems raised by mergers and acquisitions. The Notice is designed to provide the business and (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st September 2000 and 31st December 2000"* The transaction is part of a broader plan by Mannesmann to offload its non-telecommunications activities. The Commission’s investigation found that the combined firms would have a dominant position on the (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st September 2000 and 31st December 2000"* On 6th December 2000, the European Commission cleared a joint venture which combines the nuclear activities of Framatome SA of France with those of Siemens AG of Germany. The joint venture, as initially (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st September 2000 and 31st December 2000"* The European Commission decided to refer part of the proposed takeover by French company C3D and Rhône Capital LLC of the Go-Ahead Group Plc to the UK competition authorities. The referral to the UK (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st September 2000 and 31st December 2000"* In October, the Commission approved the acquisition by French telecommunications and media company Vivendi and its subsidiary Canal+ of Canada’s Seagram. The transaction significantly affected three markets, (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st September 2000 and 31st December 2000"* The Commission cleared the acquisition of US company Bestfoods by Anglo/Dutch company Unilever after the parties made substantial concessions to resolve competition concerns. The two companies overlap in the (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st September 2000 and 31st December 2000"* The European Commission decided to clear the proposed acquisition by the Boeing Company of the satellite business of Hughes Electronics Corporation following an in-depth investigation. The investigation (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st May 2000 and 31st August 2000"* With regard to the acquisition by Volvo of Renault Vehicules Industriels («RVI«) one main concern was that following the prohibition of the proposed merger between Volvo and Scania, Volvo has remained a significant (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st May 2000 and 31st August 2000"* The proposed acquisition by Finnish-based company Metsä-Serla Corp. of sole control of Swedish-based company Modo Paper AB raised concerns about the reduction of the number of paper merchants in Sweden to only two (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st May 2000 and 31st August 2000"* Between May and August, the Commission referred one case to a Member State under the Article 9 procedures. This was the referral of the proposed acquisition by the Belgian company Interbrew SA of the brewing and (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st May 2000 and 31st August 2000"* The deal was abandoned after the Commission had opened an in-depth investigation into the proposed joint control of Portuguese airline Portugália by SAirGroup, Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Partestand Banco Comercial (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st May 2000 and 31st August 2000"* After the Commission had approved Vodafone Airtouch’s acquisition of Germany’s Mannesmann in April, subject to the divestment of Orange, so as to remove competition concerns arising from overlaps in the Belgian and (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st May 2000 and 31st August 2000"* In parallel to launching the merger review, the Commission adopted a Notice, which renders merger procedures more efficient already within the present legislative framework. The Notice is based on the experience (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st May 2000 and 31st August 2000"* In this operation, which will lead to the world.s leading crop protection business, Astra-Zeneca, itself created through the merger between Astra AB and Zeneca Group PLC in spring 1999, and Novartis, resulting from (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st May 2000 and 31st August 2000"* The acquisition by German company Preussag AG of UK travel company Thomson Travel Group Plc raised serious concerns about the creation of a collective dominant position in the UK market for short-haul foreign (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st May 2000 and 31st August 2000"* Regulatory clearance for the creation of the Vizzavi Internet portal joint venture between Vodafone, Vivendi and Canal+ was made possible after the companies submitted commitments to ensure rival Internet portals (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st May 2000 and 31st August 2000"* The Commission cleared the acquisition by Pirelli Cavi e Sistemi, the cable division of Italian Pirelli Group, of BICC General‘s power cable production plants in Italy and in Britain. BICC General will retain its (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st May 2000 and 31st August 2000"* The proposed acquisition of beverage can producer American National Can by UK-based Rexam Plc, a consumer packaging group raised some concerns as to the creation of dominant positions in two regional geographic (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st May 2000 and 31st August 2000"* The Commission has imposed fines on Mitsubishi Heavy Industriesfor failing to supply information with regard to a joint venture last year between Kvaerner and Ahlström. This is the first time the Commission has fined (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st May 2000 and 31st August 2000"* The acquisition of Norwegian chemicals and explosives company Dyno by venture capital group Industri Kapital was approved following a four month, in-depth inquiry, subject to the divestiture by Industri Kapital of (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st May 2000 and 31st August 2000"* The acquisition of American Cyanamid, the crop protection subsidiary of American Home Products, will create the third largest crop protection company worldwide. The deal raised serious competition concerns in (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st September 2000 and 31st December 2000"* Following the Report from the Commission to the Council on the application of the Merger Regulation thresholds, an extensive fact finding exercise has been launched directly addressing companies involved in (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st May 2000 and 31st August 2000"* This report required by the last amendment to the Merger Regulation covers the period between March 1998, when the revised Regulation came into force, and the end of 1999. The 1997 revision of the Regulation (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st May 2000 and 31st August 2000"* The Commission decided to prohibit the merger between US telecommunications firms MCI WorldCom Inc and Sprint Corp as it would have resulted in the creation of a dominant position in the market for top-level (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st May 2000 and 31st August 2000"* The merger between the German groups VEBA and VIAG, together with the merger between RWE and VEW, which was investigated at the same time by the Bundeskartellamt, will change the face of the German power industry, (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st May 2000 and 31st August 2000"* Resulting from the merger between Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham, the new company, Glaxo SmithKline, will be the world’s biggest pharmaceuticals firm with 7.3% of global sales. The deal raised concerns about (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st May 2000 and 31st August 2000"* The Commission conditionally authorised the proposed creation of EADS, to which German company DaimlerChrysler AG, France’s Lagardère SCA, the French State and the Spanish company Sociedad Estatal de Participationes (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st May 2000 and 31st August 2000"* Resulting from the merger between Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham, the new company, Glaxo SmithKline, will be the world’s biggest pharmaceuticals firm with 7.3% of global sales. The deal raised concerns about (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st May 2000 and 31st August 2000"* The Commission conditionally approved the acquisition of Courtaulds Textiles Plc by Sara Lee. The deal would have created competition concerns in the hosiery market in France, where the companies own the two largest (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st May 2000 and 31st August 2000"* This was the second time this year the Commission has had to rule on a take-over bid involving UB. It was a collective bid involving Finalrealm, the acquiring vehicle formed by Nabisco, US investment company Hicks, (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st May 2000 and 31st August 2000"* The acquisition by Dow Chemical of Union Carbide (UCC), creating one of the world’s largest producers of plastics and chemicals, posed competition concerns in three areas. The Commission found that without the (...)

"Merger Control: main developments between 1st May 2000 and 31st August 2000"* Microsoft notified an operation in February whereby it would have acquired joint control over Telewest, a British broadband cable company, with Liberty Media, a subsidiary of AT&T Corp. The Commission started an (...)