EU clears the way for Microsoft's Skype acquisition

European Union (EU) regulators have approved Microsoft's proposed $8.5bn acquisition of voice over IP (VoIP) specialist Skype.

The European Commission (EC) said it did not have any significant antitrust concerns over the merger first announced in May.

"In the area of consumer communications, the investigation found that the parties' activities mainly overlap for video communications, where Microsoft is active through its Windows Live Messenger," the EC said in its ruling.

"However, the Commission considers that there are no competition concerns in this growing market where numerous players, including Google, are present."

The ruling will allow the proposed acquisition to clear a critical hurdle on its path to becoming finalised. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved the deal earlier this summer.

Industry analysts have suggested that while the deal could help Microsoft pick up business among small and medium-sized businesses, the company will need to move quickly and carefully with its integration plans.

According to the EC, Skype is currently of little concern in the enterprise communications market. The Commission said it does not consider the acquisition to pose any threat to current enterprise communications vendors such as Cisco.

When finalised, the deal will make Microsoft the second company to acquire Skype in its lifetime. Online auction giant eBay paid $2.6bn to purchase Skype in 2005, only to offload the company four years later in a spin-off deal.

Antitrust proceedings have been a hot topic in recent months. High-profile acquisitions such as AT&T's proposed buyout of T-Mobile USA have faced stiff opposition from government regulators.