Dell’s blockbuster $67 billion deal to acquire business technology giant EMC may have crossed a major hurdle on Thursday.
The European Union’s antitrust regulators are slated to approve the deal without demanding concessions, according to a Reuters report citing unnamed sources. The report said that European Union officials will issue a ruling on the acquisition by February 29.
The deal approval is noteworthy given that EU antitrust regulators haven’t been particularly sympathetic to giant corporations that they believe hinder competition. For example, the EU has expressed interest in breaking up Google (now Alphabet) (GOOG) over antitrust issues.
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Meanwhile, investors and analysts have expressed concern over whether the deal will be able to close in light of a weakening and tight credit market.
Both executives at Dell and EMC have been vocal in recent weeks about the deal, saying that it’s on track to close.
EMC lead director William Green said last week that the deal will close “unless an act of god happens.”
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Meanwhile, Dell chief integration officer Rory Read said this week in a letter to Dell employees that the company’s legal and government affairs teams “are working through all the required regulatory review cycles in the applicable countries.”
The letter by Read was filed with the SEC on Tuesday.
“I want to address some of the chatter over the past few weeks about possible financing headwinds with the transaction,” Read wrote. “I can assure you any suggestions our debt financing is in jeopardy are off-target and do not reflect our financing terms and the progress of our financing to date.”
