April 11 (Bloomberg) -- TomTom NV, the world's largest car-navigation equipment maker, declined to offer concessions to resolve European Union antitrust concerns in an EU probe of its proposed acquisition of digital-map maker Tele Atlas NV.

The European Commission, the Brussels-based antitrust regulator for the 27-nation EU, said today that the deadline for its review remains May 21, indicating that TomTom didn't submit remedies by a deadline yesterday.

``If they haven't changed their date, then it strongly suggests that'' the commission is ``going for unconditional clearance,'' said Dennis Oswell, a competition lawyer with Oswell & Vahida in Brussels.

TomTom, which competes with Garmin Ltd., agreed to buy Tele Atlas for 2.9 billion euros ($4.6 billion) to deliver real-time updates on map routes to the more than 15 million Global Positioning System navigation devices that it has sold.

``Tele Atlas has become a traders' toy. In the morning they speculated the deal would pass and now they're leaving through the same door,'' said Wing-Yen Choi, an analyst at Theodoor Gilissen in Amsterdam. ``For the deal this means nothing. We still have to wait for the decision in May.''

Tele Atlas fell 2.80 euros, or 11 percent, to 22.80 euros as of 3:41 a.m. in Amsterdam trading. TomTom lost 65 cents, or 3 percent, to 20.76 euros.

In-Depth Probe

``We continue to have a positive dialogue with the commission and we look forward to a positive outcome,'' Taco Titulaer, a spokesman for TomTom, said in a telephone interview.

Jan Wirken, a spokesman for Tele Atlas, declined to comment on the share price and the EU process when reached by phone. Tele Atlas is the world's second-biggest maker of digital maps, trailing only Navteq Corp.

In October, Nokia Oyj, the world's biggest mobile phone maker, agreed to buy Navteq for $8.1 billion. The commission will rule on that deal by Aug. 8.

The EU regulator began an in-depth probe of TomTom's bid for Tele Atlas in November. The investigation is focusing on whether the deal would make it more expensive for other makers of GPS devices to purchase maps.

The commission informed TomTom in February that its acquisition of Tele Atlas may break antitrust rules, two people with knowledge of the case said at the time. Tele Atlas shares have since lost a third of their value.

Takeover Fight

Under EU rules, companies can submit antitrust remedies after a deadline in ``exceptional circumstances,'' commission spokesman Jonathan Todd said. He declined to describe what those circumstances may be.

TomTom's largest competitor in navigation systems is George Town, Grand Cayman-based Garmin, which lost a battle with TomTom to purchase Tele Atlas.

TomTom's devices attach to dashboards and help drivers find their way, avoid traffic and receive phone calls. The navigation systems act as surveyors, gathering feedback that can be incorporated into Tele Atlas maps, according to TomTom.

TomTom posted a letter on its Web site last December in which it said the relationship between Tele Atlas and its customers ``will remain exactly the same.''

``All Tele Atlas customers, including TomTom, will have access to the same higher quality maps, at the same time, and will pay a comparable price,'' the letter said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Matthew Newman in Brussels at mnewman6@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: April 11, 2008 10:25 EDT