The deal, which would be IBM’s biggest to date, received US regulatory approval in May and recently from Brazil.
The European Commission has unconditionally approved IBM’s proposed $34 billion acquisition of open source software company Red Hat, according to news reports.
The commission on Thursday concluded that the transaction would raise no competition concerns, and that it might in fact increase competition in the open source space.
IBM and Red Hat, both based in the US, announced the deal last October. The deal received US regulatory approval in May and recently from Brazil.
The US Department of Justice also approved the deal without demanding concessions.
IBM expanding footprint in subscription-based software
The deal, which would be IBM’s biggest to date, is intended to help the company expand its footprint in subscription-based software. The companies are expecting to close the deal in the second half of 2019.
Once the deal is closed, Red Hat will join IBM’s Hybrid Cloud team as a distinct unit, and will maintain its current management team and headquarters, facilities, brands and practices.
