Hurdles Loom in Deal for Reuters

HURDLES LOOM IN DEAL FOR REUTERS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Aaron O. Patrick aaron.patrick@wsj.com]
Thomson and Reuters Group PLC's ambitious plan to create the world's largest supplier of financial data and news could face regulatory hurdles as it would narrow the market to two main competitors from three. While the talks are friendly, the takeover faces a hurdle at Reuters: It will have to be approved by independent trustees who control Reuters Founders Share Co., which was established to maintain the independence and integrity of the Reuters news service. The deal would also likely have to be cleared by the European Commission's Competition Directorate, the European Union's antitrust authority, which is often tougher on big mergers than U.S. authorities. It has a track record of asking for extensive information from merging companies and is likely to ask customers and competitors for their views.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117860689438895641.html?mod=todays_us_pa...
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