OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's Competition Bureau said on Thursday it would not block Lowe's Companies Inc's (>> Lowe's Companies, Inc.) proposed purchase of Canadian firm Rona Inc (>> RONA Inc.), saying it was satisfied the deal would not substantially lessen competition.

The C$3.2 billion ($2.5 billion) takeover bid, which Lowe's unveiled in February, will help the U.S. home improvement retailer compete with Home Depot (>> Home Depot Inc). A court in Quebec - the province where Rona has its headquarters - approved the deal in April.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Alan Crosby)

Stocks treated in this article : Home Depot Inc, Lowe's Companies, Inc., RONA Inc.