By Laurence Norman

BRUSSELS--The European Union's antitrust body said Monday it had cleared the acquisition of U.S.-based Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) by Singapore-based Avago Technologies Ltd. (AVGO), saying the merger wouldn't affect competition among semiconductor manufacturers in Europe.

Both companies are global manufacturers of semiconductors, which are used in a wide variety of products including mobile phones, computers, cars and domestic appliances.

"Thanks to very good cooperation with the companies, the Commission has been able to approve this multi-billion-dollar takeover within a very short space of time while preserving effective competition in this crucial high-technology sector," said European competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager in a press release.

Avago had already moved to address the EU's key competition concern about the merger by signing agreements with companies it supplies intellectual property to, specifically the provision of technology for allowing fast data transmission between chips.

These agreements ensure the firms, which are competitors of Broadcom, will continue to have access to the information on reasonable terms.

Write to Laurence Norman at laurence.norman@wsj.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 23, 2015 07:38 ET (12:38 GMT)