Thompson gets OK for Reuters bid

The New York Times reports that Thomson Corp. won European regulatory approval Tuesday to buy provider Reuters Group PLC but it must sell off several business-information databases to eliminate antitrust concerns.
To ensure customers still have a choice and will not face high prices the EU would like to see some changes before the deal moves forward.
Reuters would divest its Reuters Estimates, Reuters Aftermarket Research and Reuters Economics (EcoWin) databases that supply financial-market research reports, earnings estimates and economic data archives.
Thomson would shed copies of Thomson Fundamentals (Worldscope) which provides basic financial data on companies. It may keep Worldscope databases for its own use but cannot sell the information to others.
The companies said they now expect to complete the deal by April 13 and will seek shareholder and court approval for the selloffs. Reuters and Thomson shareholder meetings have been scheduled for March 26.
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