The European Commission approved the Blackstone Group's proposed purchase of Hilton Hotels Corp

, saying "the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area or any substantial part of it. Blackstone, via Galileo and Worldspan, is also engaged in the market for electronic global distribution systems, an activity that is vertically linked to Hilton's hotel activities. The Commission's investigation confirmed that the new entity would have neither the ability nor the incentive to create supply problems or to close off competitors on this market." Expected to close by the end of this month, the transaction already has received Hilton shareholder approval.