EU Set To Clear Dell's $67B Deal For EMC, Sources Say

Dell Inc., the world's third-biggest maker of computers, is set to gain unconditional EU antitrust approval for its $67 billion bid for data storage company EMC Corp, two people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Dell unveiled the deal in October last year, the largest ever in the technology industry sector, and designed to enable Dell to better challenge rivals Cisco Systems Inc., IBM and Hewlett-Packard in cloud computing, mobility and cyber security.

European Commission spokesman Ricardo Cardoso declined to comment on Thursday. The Commission is scheduled to give its ruling on the deal by Feb. 29.

"The transaction is on schedule under its original timetable and original terms," a Dell spokesman said in a statement.

EMC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

EMC shares closed 0.56 percent higher at $25.12.

Dell founder and Chief Executive Michael Dell took the company private three years ago with the help of private equity firm Silver Lake.

The computer maker has arranged a debt package for up to $49.5 billion to help finance the EMC deal, the second-largest M&A financing on record.

(Additional reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Greg Mahlich and Chris Reese)