UPDATE 1-Nokia/Navteq approval assured, no EU charge-sources
(Adds background, Helsinki dateline)
By David Lawsky and Tarmo Virki
BRUSSELS/HELSINKI, June 5 (Reuters) - Nokia (NOK1V.HE) will get clearance from EU regulators to buy digital map supplier Navteq NVT.N because no formal charges are to be levied against the deal, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
No formal statement of objections from the European Commission has been delivered to mobile phone giant Nokia and none is coming, the sources said. Under the law, the Commission may not block a deal without such a statement.
The time for sending any statement of objections has passed, according to these sources, which include industrial sources.
The deadline for a decision by Brussels is Aug. 8. The lack of a statement of objections does not preclude the possibility that the transaction will be approved conditionally.
"The Commission never comments on ongoing merger cases," a spokesman for the European Union's executive arm said.
A spokesman for Finland's Nokia said: "We cannot comment on the details but we are committed for the deal to go through."
Nokia has said the talks were progressing well and had been constructive.
The $8.1 billion transaction would give Nokia -- which is looking for new revenue sources as the mobile phone industry matures -- a stronghold in the navigation business, one of the fastest-growing segments in the technology industry.
The deal is a cornerstone of Nokia's new push towards Internet services, where it expects to benefit from close access to maps.
When Nokia announced the deal last October, it said it would finance about half the transaction from cash reserves and half from the financial market. Nokia expects the deal to close this quarter.
Nokia has said it received all other necessary approvals for the deal from other sources, including the United States.
TomTom (TOM2.AS), the world's top maker of car navigation devices, won permission from the European Commission in May to buy digital map supplier Tele Atlas TA.AS.
In questionnaires, the Commission has told customers and competitors that the two deals resemble each other in some ways.
However, the Commission has also said there were significant differences between the two deals.
In addition, Nokia was facing changed market conditions because Navteq's only world competitor had been acquired. (Editing by Dale Hudson)
