Aegean kjøper Olympic

Aegean Airlines wins EU approval to buy Olympic Air (Reuters) - Greece's Aegean Airlines has won European Union approval to buy loss-making rival Olympic Air at the second attempt, after a new antitrust investigation found Olympic would close down if the deal was blocked. Aegean has said the proposed 72 million-euro ($96.4 million) deal is crucial for both airlines amid a decline in domestic demand in recession-hit Greece. "It is clear that, due to the on-going Greek crisis and given Olympic's own very difficult financial situation, Olympic would be forced to leave the market soon in any event," EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said on Wednesday. "Therefore we approved the merger because it has no additional negative effect on competition," he added.