08/12/2014 (Agence Europe) - Mergers: Kensington/Blackstone/TPG. On Monday 8 December, the European Commission gave the go-ahead to the acquisition of joint control over Kensington Group plc and certain Investec Bank plc assets of the United Kingdom by Blackstone Group L.P and Koala HoldCo, LLC, both of the United States. The latter is a portfolio company of TPG Global, LLC and TPG Special Situations Partners, LLC. Kensington is a residential mortgage lender based in the UK. Blackstone is a global alternative asset manager and provider of financial advisory services. TPG is a global private investment firm. The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would not raise competition concerns because there are no overlaps between the companies' activities. (EL)