The Competition Commission of India (CCI), a regulatory body monitoring for anti-competitive practices, has given approval for Microsoft’s acquisition of the mobile arm of Nokia.
The deal between Nokia and Microsoft was finalized on 2 September, and Microsoft has applied for clearance in India, as well as other countries. The CCI gave its approval back on 24 October, but the order has only just been made public.
The order states that the acquisition “is not likely to have appreciable adverse effect on competition in India”. It goes on to say “As regards the proposed combination, it is noticed that in India, while Nokia is active in the D&S (Devices & Services) business of mobile handsets, Microsoft is not active in that business.”
Approval by India’s anti-trust body means that the two companies are now free to go ahead and merge their operations. On top of that, Nokia is now free to sell Windows Phone powered Lumia handsets in India after the acquisition.
