Brussels, 18/05/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has authorised the French firm Cap Gemini to acquire the global consuting and information technology activities of the American firm Ernst & Young. The Commission's investigation revealed that Cap Gemini and E&Y largely complement each other geographically, with Cap Gemini's practice focusing essentially on Europe and E&Y's on North America. Likewise, their areas of activity are complementary. The American firm is specialised in general consulting while Cap Gemini concentrates on information technology. The Commission found that the operation would lead to only minor overlap on the market in question, which is unlikely to alter the present situation significantly. Given the relatively low combined market shares and the existence of strong competition on all the markets examined, the Commission decided not to oppose the operation, declaring it compatible with the common market and the European Economic Agreement.