24/02/2006 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has cleared the planned acquisition of Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. (“Scientific-Atlanta”) by Cisco Systems Inc. (“Cisco”), both of the US. Whilst Cisco and Scientific-Atlanta both provide products for the delivery of content over networks, there is only a limited overlap in the parties' activities in the EEA with respect to certain cable modem and gateway products and even more limited overlap for wireless mesh network products, certain set-top boxes and certain optical transmission products. The Commission's examination of the deal has revealed that the new combined entity would continue to face a number of strong competitors and that new market opportunities, as well as relatively low barriers to entry, may attract new entrants. Furthermore, buyers maintain competition in these markets by switching suppliers relatively often. The Commission therefore concludes that the horizontal overlap in the parties' activities resulting from the proposed transaction would have no negative impact on competition in the European Economic Area (EEA).