EU Approves UAL Purchase of US Airways on ConditionThe European Commission Friday said that it had conditionally approved UAL Corp.'s planned purchase of the United States Airways.The commission, the competition watchdog of the 15-nation European Union, approved the deal after the UAL's United Airlines agreed to give up some slots for transatlantic flights at the airports in Frankfurt and Munich, Germany. The commission said that its review of the planned deal had shown that there could be competition concerns on four transatlantic routes, three originating from Frankfurt and one from Munich. "But United (Airlines) submitted undertakings in the form of slot divestitures at Frankfurt and Munich which will facilitate the entry of new competitors on those routes," said the commission in a written statement. UAL, the parent company of the United Airlines, announced plans in May last year to buy US Airways for about US$4.3 billion. The United Airlines is already the world's largest airline company. The European Commission said last December that it had extended the deadline to rule on the deal after the companies in question offered concessions to address competition concerns. The United Airlines and US Airways said also in December that they had agreed with the U.S. Department of Justice to extend the US review period for the proposed merger until April 2 this year to give the companies more time to discuss the deal with competition regulators. |
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