BRUSSELS, March 7, 2008 (AFP) - EU competition regulators approved on Friday Danish brewer Carlsberg's purchase of some of the assets of British rival Scottish and Newcastle.

'After examining the operation, the (European) Commission concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede competition,' Europe's top antitrust watchdog said in statement.

Scottish and Newcastle accepted in January a 7.8 billion pound (10.5 billion euro, 15.5 billion dollar) takeover bid by Carlsberg of Denmark and Heineken of the Netherlands.

Under the deal, Carlsberg and Heineken are to split the Scottish and Newcastle's assets between them.

Carlsberg will take Scottish and Newcastle's half of their joint Russian venture Baltic Beverages Holding, which makes Russia's Baltika beer, and its Chinese, French, Greek and Vietnamese operations.

Heineken, meanwhile, will take businesses in Belgium, Britain, Finland, India, Ireland, Portugal and the United States.