The European Commission said on Thursday it had approved without conditions Hewlett-Packard Co.'s proposed purchase of Compaq Computer Corp. in a $22.3 billion deal.
``A careful analysis of the merger...and of the competitive forces in the markets concerned has shown that HP would not be in a position to increase prices and that consumers would continue to benefit from sufficient choice and innovation,'' the Commission said in a statement.
Regulatory clearance, which had been widely expected, is not the final hurdle for the merger of the two U.S.-based global providers of computing and enterprise technology solutions.
The transaction, which would be the largest merger in personal computer history, remains under review by the Federal Trade Commission in the United States and several other jurisdictions.
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