31/01/2002 (Agence Europe) - At the end of Thursday afternoon, the European Commission is expected to issue its ruling on the planned acquisition of Compaq Computer by Hewlett-Packard. The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that close sources suggested the deal would probably be given an unconditional go-ahead by the Commission. The deal is worth some $22.3 billion and would be the biggest merger ever in the IT business.