The European Commission has cleared Ernst & Young's proposed acquisition of Andersen Group's German units.
The commission said the merger would not lead to competition problems in the audit and accounting services market, given the strong positions of the market leaders KPMG and PwC.
Under the proposed deal, Ernst & Young Deutsche Allgemeine Treuhand AG, Treuhand Sued GmbH and Ernst & Young Stiftung will enter a full merger with Arthur Andersen WPG/StBG GmbH, Andersen Luther and Arthur Andersen Corporate Financer.