European regulators cleared Nokia's takeover of U.S. digital mapmaker Navteq on Wednesday, saying the deal would be unlikely to shut off rivals' access to digital maps.
Navteq Corp. is one of only two international producers of digital maps. The other one, Tele Atlas NV, was recently bought by navigation device producer TomTom NV.
The European Commission said there were concerns that the strong position held by Nokia Corp. as a supplier of mobile phones might allow the combined company to block rivals' access to maps they need to offer navigation services.
But it said Tele Atlas offered enough competition to prevent that from happening.
Chicago-based Navteq produces maps and software found in automobile navigation systems, portable navigation devices made by Garmin Ltd. and other companies, and Internet map sites like AOL's Mapquest, Google Maps and Yahoo Maps.
Nokia's $8 billion purchase of the company reflects its interest in using more navigation software in its mobile phones and other products.
U.S. regulators approved the deal in December.
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