Brussels, Muharram 08, 1437, October 21, 2015, SPA -- A planned merger between parcel delivery services FedEx and TNT Express can go forward after the European Commission dropped competition concerns about the deal, the companies said late Tuesday, according to dpa. US-based FedEx wants to acquire Netherlands-based TNT for 4.4 billion euros (4.9 billion dollars). The European Union's executive opened an investigation in April into the merger, citing concerns that rivals US-based UPS and German-owned DHL would not offer sufficient "competitive constraints" on the combined firm. The European Commission informed FedEx and TNT ahead of a Friday deadline that "no statement of objections will be issued," the companies said jointly. They still expect the takeover to be completed in the first half of 2016. UPS had previously attempted to purchase TNT, but the European Commission blocked the merger in 2013 because it deemed that competition would be stifled. --SPA 02:13 LOCAL TIME 23:13 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w