July 2 - 12:45pm EDT   The European Commission has approved an acquisition of map maker NAVTEQ, Nokia has announced. With this validation in hand, the company says it has met all regulatory concerns, and plans to complete the buyout within a matter of five days. "NAVTEQ will play a key role in our Internet services strategy," reads a statement from Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo. The acquisition will also likely save the company money on licensing, as it has previously had to pay companies like NAVTEQ for each use of a map on a phone. [full story]

May 14 - 4:30pm EDT   European Commission officials today cleared GPS maker TomTom's plans to buy Tele Atlas. The government body says the buyout "would not significantly impede" competition in GPS navigators and attached no restrictions to the deal, which lets TomTom use an in-house source for its own maps. Although the possiblity exists for TomTom to artificially limit competition by blocking sales of Tele Atlas maps to outside companies, the existence of its rival Navteq makes that "unlikely," the Commission says. [full story]

March 28 - 12:40pm EDT   The European Commission has begun a serious investigation into Nokia's planned purchase of NAVTEQ, Reuters says. The inquiry has an initial deadline of 90 days, with a possible extension to 125; in question is whether or not the deal violates any monopoly concerns. The Commission observes that NAVTEQ is only one of two major producers of digital maps for GPS services, which could give Nokia an unfair advantage in its cellphone business. [full story]