BRUSSELS - European Union antitrust authorities will decide by Nov. 18 whether to wave through Belgian chemical group Solvay's (>> Solvay) $5.5-billion (3.58 billion pounds) bid for U.S. peer Cytec, the European Commission said on Wednesday.

Solvay is looking to the deal to boost its presence in the booming lightweight materials business.

The European Commission can either approve the deal with or without conditions or open a full-scale investigation if it has serious concerns about the competition impact.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek)

Stocks treated in this article : Solvay, Cytec Industries Inc