For one thing, they are already so big that further mergers would raise competition concerns.
But it raises competition issues – and public policy questions – that are being ignored.
The companies yesterday admitted that regulators are likely to raise competition issues.
Yet it raises competition issues, and F.T.C. investigators have reviewed the court documents and talked to Skyhook's chief executive, Ted Morgan.
Still, the deal does "not raise competition concerns, in particular because the merged entity will continue to face several strong competitors," the EU Commission said in a statement.
Mr. Almunia also said that a settlement in the case did not mean he would not undertake inquiries in other areas that raised competition concerns.
The roughly $600 trillion market is controlled by a small number of players, concentration that has raised competition concerns in recent years.
BLOOMBERG NEWS United Technologies Draws European Scrutiny | The European Commission has raised competition concerns about United Technologies' proposed acquisition of the Goodrich Corporation, Reuters reports.
Prior to the HBOS announcement, the commission was expected to clear the takeover, because the deal does not appear to raise competition issues over market dominance.
The European Union said yesterday that the Thomson Corporation's plan to buy the Reuters Group raised competition concerns for the supply of financial information.
