BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust enforcers will rule by Feb. 28 whether to approve United Technologies Corp (N:UTX) and U.S. contractor Raytheon Co's (N:RTN) bid to create a $121 billion (£92.5 billion) aerospace and defence giant, a filing on the European Commission website showed.
The EU antitrust watchdog can clear the deal with or without concessions during its preliminary review or open a five-month long investigation into the deal if it has deep concerns.
United Technologies makes electronics, communications and other equipment for mainly commercial plane makers whereas Raytheon primarily supplies the U.S. government with military aircraft and missile equipment.
Both companies have sought to address competition concerns, with UTC selling a military-focused GPS unit from its subsidiary Collins and Raytheon divesting an airborne tactical radios unit to British defence company BAE Systems (L:BAES) last week.
The deal also needs U.S. approval.