The march toward approval of the Random House, Penguin Group merger continued Friday with the news that the European Commission has approved the deal without conditions. The approval by the European authorities follows the approval of the transaction by the U.S. Department of Justice, the ACCC in Australia, and the NZCC in New Zealand.

Several other regulatory authorities in various parts of the world are currently reviewing the transaction, and RH and Penguin said they are confident that the approvals will be forthcoming during the course of the year.