The Dutch consumer and markets authority ACM has no objection to the takeover of the Telegraaf Media Groep by Belgium’s Mediahuis publishing group, the cartel watchdog said on Tuesday.

TMG publishes the Telegraaf, which has the largest circulation of all Dutch newspapers. The deal makes the Telegraaf a stablemate of the NRC and several other Dutch and Belgian media companies.

The ACM says that both the Telegraaf and the NRC had their own readerships  and that the regional newspapers, magazines and website did not compete with each other. This means there are no competition objections to the deal.

Mediahuis ‘acquisition of TMG was hotly contested by media mogul John de Mol who retains a healthy minority stake in TMG.

The other big Dutch papers – Parool, Trouw and the Volkskrant – are owned by a rival Belgian publishing house, Persgroep.