Anna Papaioannou

"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 (...)