BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union antitrust regulators will decide by Oct. 14 whether to clear U.S. chipmaker Intel's (>> Intel Corporation) $16.7 billion (10.86 billion pounds) bid for Altera Corp (>> Altera Corporation), its largest ever deal.

World No. 1 chipmaker Intel filed for approval on Wednesday, the European Commission website showed.

The EU competition authority can either clear the deal with or without conditions in a preliminary review or open a full-scale investigation if it has deeper concerns.

While analysts do not see any overlapping products between the companies which could trigger an extensive probe, reaction from some investors on the day the deal was announced suggested worries about regulatory hurdles.

The deal will strengthen Intel's portfolio of higher-margin chips used in data centres and its involvement in the so-called Internet of Things where more and more household devices are linked to the Internet.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Philip Blenkinsop)

Stocks treated in this article : Intel Corporation, Altera Corporation