The European Union has approved Cisco Systems' proposed $6.9-billion purchase of Scientific-Atlanta, saying the merger will not pose any anti-trust problems in Europe, an Associated Press report said.
The report also quoted the EU as saying that the merger could even encourage new players to enter the EU market.
Cisco is a major networking equipment maker, while Scientific-Atlanta makes set-top-boxes for cable operators.
In a statement, the European Commission said there was "limited overlap" in the two firms' activities in Europe in cable modem and gateway products, and even less in wireless mesh network products, set-top boxes and optical transmission products.
US regulators raised no objections to the deal either, allowing the waiting period for their review to expire at the end of 2005 without taking any action, the report said.