The European Commission said Friday that it had approved the deal that will see NEC Corp take a controlling interest in US PC maker Packard Bell NEC. The EC noted in its approval that there is no major antitrust concerns as a significant number of competitors exist in the European market. In July, NEC announced that it would invest roughly $225m in Packard Bell NEC, upping its stake to 52.81% from the current 49% and making it a subsidiary of the global Japanese company (CI No 3,465). Groupe Bull’s shareholding has been trimmed from 13% to 11.68% as a result. NEC first began investing in Sacramento, California-based Packard Bell in 1993.
