BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Friday it had approved without conditions FedEx's (>> FedEx Corporation) planned 4.4 billion euro (3.2 billion pounds) takeover of Dutch package delivery rival TNT Express (>> TNT EXPRESS).

The Commission said in a statement that the two were not particularly close competitors and the merged entity would continue to face strong competition from its rivals in all markets concerned.

The two companies earlier said they had secured the approval.

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop)

Stocks treated in this article : FedEx Corporation, TNT EXPRESS