Government Clears Accounting Merger

The U.S. Justice Department cleared the merger of Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand LLP, and the two accounting giants said they hoped for approval soon by European antitrust regulators.

The Justice Department, which began reviewing the transaction several months ago, did not find evidence that the combination would reduce competition in the accounting business, said spokesman Michael Gordon. The review “didn’t reveal anticompetitive concerns,” he said.

The antitrust regulatory agency of the European Union is scheduled to announce its decision on the merger Monday. It’s expected they’ll approve the deal without imposing any conditions.

In a joint statement, the CEOs of the two companies hailed the Justice Department’s decision “as a major step forward which moves us that much closer to fulfilling our aim of creating the world’s premier professional services organization.”