CRM News: Deals: EU Gives Nod to Nokia's Navteq Buy

The European Commission has given Nokia the green light to complete its purchase of Navteq. Although there were antitrust concerns about the deal, the Commission concluded that there is enough competition in the marketplace to prevent Nokia from obstructing rivals' access to the maps they need to offer navigation services.

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European regulators cleared Nokia's (NYSE: NOK) takeover of U.S. digital mapmaker Navteq on Wednesday, saying the deal would be unlikely to shut off rivals' access to digital maps.

Navteq is one of only two international producers of digital maps.

The other one, Tele Atlas, was recently bought by navigation device producer TomTom.

Enough Competition

The European Commission said there were concerns that the strong position held by Nokia as a supplier of mobile phones might allow the combined company to block rivals' access to maps they need to offer navigation services.

However, it said Tele Atlas offered enough competition to prevent that from happening.

More Nav Software in Phones

Chicago-based Navteq produces maps and software found in automobile navigation systems, portable navigation devices made by Garmin (Nasdaq: GRMN) and other companies, and Internet map sites like AOL's MapQuest, Google Maps and Yahoo Maps.

Nokia's US$8 billion purchase of the company reflects its interest in using more navigation software in its mobile phones and other products.

U.S. regulators approved the deal in December.

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