May 14 (Bloomberg) -- TomTom NV, Europe's largest maker of car-navigation devices, won European permission to buy digital- mapping company Tele Atlas NV for 2.9 billion euros ($4.5 billion).

The decision by the European Commission, the European Union's antitrust regulator, ends a six-month-long investigation highlighted by TomTom's rejection of EU demands to license Tele Atlas's database to create more competition.

Tele Atlas will allow TomTom to pursue mobile-phone makers and car manufacturers as customers while sales growth of portable navigation devices, its traditional product, is slowing. The decision indicates the commission may also approve Nokia Oyj's $8.1 billion purchase of Navteq Corp., the world's largest maker of digital maps.

``The commission would have considered these deals in parallel and I'd take the approval of TomTom-Tele Atlas as a signal that Nokia will get unconditional clearance,'' said Sheila Tormey, a former official at the U.K.'s Office of Fair Trading and competition lawyer at Barlow Lyde & Gilbert LLP in London. ``It would be difficult to do anything different.''

TomTom expects to complete the deal by the beginning of June and said it's ``very satisfied'' with the outcome of the EU probe. The result is ``the best possible outcome,'' spokesman Taco Titulaer said in a telephone interview.

Shares Prices

TomTom shares fell 18 cents to 25.85 euros in Amsterdam trading. The shares have fallen 50 percent so far this year. Tele Atlas rose 71 cents, or 2.4 percent, to 29.86 euros.

Jan Wirken, a spokesman for Tele Atlas, said the merger will be important for the company's future growth.

TomTom's navigation systems, which are mounted on windshields and help drivers find their way and avoid traffic, automatically act as map surveyors, gathering feedback from its more than 18 million users that can be incorporated into Tele Atlas maps. TomTom's largest competitor in navigation devices is George Town, Grand Cayman-based Garmin Ltd.

Den Bosch, Netherlands-based Tele Atlas is the world's second-biggest producer of maps. TomTom, which announced its first offer for the mapmaker in July, has said Tele Atlas will continue to deliver maps to rival navigation-device makers.

TomTom Revenue

While TomTom's revenue has grown ninefold in the past three years, increased competition has led to falling prices. TomTom's first-quarter profit this year sank to the lowest point since the company sold its first product in 2004.

Further competition will come from handsets with mapping capabilities from Espoo, Finland-based Nokia and other mobile- phone makers. Nokia, the biggest producer of mobile phones, expects to ship 35 million GPS-enabled handsets this year.

The commission began an in-depth probe of TomTom's bid for Tele Atlas on Nov. 28. The investigation focused on whether the deal would make it more expensive for other makers of navigation devices to purchase or have access to maps.

The commission said those concerns were unfounded because of competition from Navteq. The regulator also took into account efficiencies that would be created by the deal.

``I am now satisfied that the innovation and competition we have seen in satellite-navigation devices until now will continue after this merger,'' EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes in Brussels said in a statement today.

To contact the reporters on this story: Matthew Newman in Brussels at Mnewman6@bloomberg.net; Marcel van de Hoef in Amsterdam at +31- mvandehoef@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 14, 2008 13:02 EDT