BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) — EU regulators cleared German engineering giant Siemens AG on Thursday to buy U.S.-based Dade Behring Inc., creating the world's largest provider of clinical diagnostics tests that help medical laboratories diagnose cancer, allergies and fertility.
The European Commission said it did not see any antitrust problems with the deal and did not believe the new company would have the power to raise prices for labs or consumers because it would have several rivals with significant market shares.
Siemens, Europe's biggest engineering company which makes everything from cell-phone network components to trains, announced in July that it would buy Illinois-based Dade for US$7 billion (euro5.09 billion), adding to similar businesses it bought last year, Diagnostic Products Corp. and Bayer Diagnostics.
