By Giulia Petroni

Nexi SpA said late Thursday that the Italian competition authority has cleared the planned acquisition of fintech rival SIA SpA, a deal set to create a European giant in the payments sector.

The Italian payments processor said the authorization is a further step in the completion of the deal and follows those already granted by the Polish, Austrian and German competition authorities.

The transaction should be completed as soon as is practicable, Nexi said. It still requires some technical and regulatory actions, including clearance by the German regulatory authority, the Danish investment authorities, and the Italian market regulator Consob.

Write to Giulia Petroni at giulia.petroni@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-15-21 0142ET