The European Union cleared the planned merger between Britain's Penguin Books and German-owned Random House on Friday, as the bloc's executive found that the merged entity would still face strong market competition, dpa reported. "The (European) Commission found that the transaction would not raise competition concerns, in particular because the merged entity will continue to face several strong competitors," it said in a statement. The deal, which is reportedly worth 2.4 billion pounds (3.6 billion dollars), would create the world's biggest consumer book publishing business, according to Germany's Bertelsmann SE and Pearson Plc in Britain. -- SPA 19:52 LOCAL TIME 16:52 GMT تغريد
