In a press release, The European Commission, under its EU Merger Regulation, has approved Nokia Corporation's acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent.
The Comission came to a conclusion that, although the two companies offer telecommunication equipment and related services globally, the transaction won't raise "competition concerns."
"The parties are not close competitors and since a number of strong global competitors will remain active after the transaction," the Commission said in the press release.
The Commission came to its conclusion after assessing what effects the transaction will have in the field of mobile network equipment. Despite the combined market shares of about 30 percent or more, in some of the equipment offered, the Commission sees no problem as the overlapping activities of both companies are "effectively limited."
"Nokia has a strong presence in the European Economic Area, where Alcatel-Lucent is a small player, and conversely Alcatel-Lucent has a strong presence in North America, where Nokia's activities are rather limited," said the Commission in the press release.
The Commission also stated that several "strong players" are still active in the European market. Ericsson AB, Huawei Technologies Co., Samsung Electronics Co. and ZTE Corp. are the big players in the market. Ericsson, Huawei, and Nokia are the considered the main players in the European market.
The Commission, though, sees Samsung as a player on the rise.
"Samsung is expected to play a more significant role in the near future, in relation to the newest generation mobile telecommunications equipment (so-called 4G, currently being deployed, and 5G)," the Commission said in the press release.
Bloomberg reports that Nokia's acquisition will push it ahead of Ericsson and Huawei, in terms of wireless infrastructure revenue, as a supplier.
The new deal is part of Nokia's transition from products and services with interests in consumer markets to an operation focused on business and industry clients, according to a report from The Verge.
The Verge also reports that Nokia will acquire Alcatel-Lucent for about $16.6 billion.
