Nokia’s pending acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent passed another hurdle Monday, as the company announced the deal has received the approval of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
In June, the merger gained the approval of the U.S. Department of Justice following similar antitrust clearance from Brazil and Serbia.
The approval no doubt comes as a relief to the Finnish company, as regulatory filings in August revealed that Nokia would be subject to up to $440 million in termination fees to be paid to Alcatel-Lucent if it failed to receive the necessary approvals for the $16.6 billion acquisition.
In April, Nokia agreed to make Alcatel-Lucent an offer for all of the equity securities issued by the company, through a public exchange offer in France and in the United States, on the basis of 0.55 of a new Nokia share for every Alcatel-Lucent share.
The deal is expected to close in early 2016, pending the remaining regulatory approvals.
The merger would create a company with combined revenues of approximately $27.6 billion in 2014 which could be better equipped to compete with large competitors like Ericsson.
As of 10:40 a.m. Monday, Nokia shares were up 1.77 percent.
Filed Under: Industry regulations + certifications
