U.S. gives green light to FedEx-TNT merger

FedEx Corp.’s biggest hurdle to its acquisition of Netherlands-based TNT Express, however, is still to come, as the deal will still require approval from the European Commission.    The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has approved FedEx Corp.’s proposed $4.8 billion acquisition of Dutch express carrier TNT Express.
   News outlet Reuters reported that the merger is on a list of approved deals issued by the agency on Tuesday.
   U.S. regulatory approval for the deal was considered by most analysts and industry experts to be a foregone conclusion. The real test is in Europe, where anti-competition authorities are closely scrutinizing the deal to determine if there will be sufficient market competition with only DHL, FedEx and UPS as the remaining major parcel carriers.
   FedEx could be forced to divest some assets in some countries to satisfy competition concerns and finalize the deal, but the companies said they have received assurances that regulators will allow the transaction to go through.