BRUSSELS, Oct 23 (Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker Merck & Co Inc's $41.1 billion takeover of smaller rival Schering-Plough Corp won approval from European Union antitrust regulators on Friday.
The takeover, structured by Merck as a reverse merger, followed a long-standing joint venture between Merck and Schering-Plough that sells the cholesterol fighters Vytorin and Zetia.
"The proposed transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European economic area or any substantial part of it," the European Commission said in a statement. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Dale Hudson)