THE merger of two of the world's biggest auditing and accounting firms, Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand, cleared its final hurdle when the European Commission gave them its blessing.

In approving the merger yesterday, after an investigation lasting several months, it concluded that it would not create a dominant position in any of the markets in which the firms operate.

After examining both companies' market shares and the outcome of competitive bidding by the world's six biggest accounting firms over a number of years, EU Commission lawyers concluded the new firm would still have to contend with tough competition.