Brussels, 22/03/2005 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has cleared the proposed acquisition of Kidde plc by the US technology company United Technologies Corporation (“UTC”). Both UTC, active in the fire protection sector through its subsidiary Chubb, and Kidde are leading players on various markets for fire protection products. The parties' activities overlap in particular in the markets for commercial portable fire extinguishers and for gaseous fire suppression systems