SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's competition regulator said on Friday it will not oppose a three part deal between Novartis (VX:NOVN) and GlaxoSmithKline (L:GSK) to trade more than $20 billion (13 billion pounds) worth of assets, following approval from EU regulators.
The companies agreed last April to the transaction that includes GSK buying Novartis' vaccines business, Novartis purchasing GSK's cancer drugs, and the two groups tying up in consumer healthcare.
The Swiss drugmaker will buy London-based GSK's oncology products for $14.5 billion plus another $1.5 billion that depends on the results of a trial in melanoma.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said it was satisfied the deals, subject to undertakings given by the companies, were unlikely to substantially reduce competition.