(BRUSSELS) - EU regulators approved on Thursday Hilton Hotels' sale of its Scandinavian hotels chain Scandic to Swedish private equity fund EQT.

"After examining the operation, the (European) Commission concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition," the EU antitrust watchdog said in a statement.

Hilton Hotels announced in March that it would sell Scandic for 833 million euros (1.1 billion dollars) to EQT, which is controlled by Northern Europe's biggest industrial holding company Investor.

Scandic is the biggest hotel operator in Scandinavia with 132.

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