The EU has approved Microsoft's planned purchase of Nokia's mobile devices and services business.



From All About Microsoft:

In a press release dated December 4, the Commission said it had investigated potential compeition concerns and found none.

"The Commission concluded that the transaction would not raise any competition concerns, in particular because there are only modest overlaps between the parties' activities and the links between Microsoft's mobile operating systems, mobile applications and enterprise mail server software with Nokia's smart mobile devices are unlikely to lead to competitors being shut out from the market," said the press release.

"In 2012, almost 700 million smartphones and 162 million tablets were sold worldwide. The Commission assessed the effects of the acquisition on competition in the field of smart mobile devices (including smartphones and tablets). The Commission found that the overlap of the two companies' activities in this area is minimal and several strong rivals, such as Samsung and Apple will continue to compete with the merged entity," the release added.

  European Commission clears Microsoft's Nokia purchase