Swiss power grids maker ABB said it would buy the General Electric's unit in September $2.6 billion (2 billion pounds) in a bet it can improve the division's lacklustre margins over the next five years.

"The Commission concluded that the transaction would raise no competition concerns in the relevant markets within the European Economic Area," the EU executive, which oversees competition in the European Union, said on Friday.

(Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek; editing by Francesco Guarascio)