Italian utility Enel last week won approval from the European Union (EU) to buy Romanian electricity distributor and supplier EMS for 820 million euros.

"The transaction would not significantly impede effective competition," the European Commission said in a statement after examining the operation.

The EU's antitrust watchdog said although the two companies' activities overlap on the electricity retail supply market, its investigation showed that the proposed concentration would not give rise to competition concerns as in the market for the retail supply of electricity since there are several other strong competitors present.

Enel is the former Italian electricity incumbent. While Enel has some activities in the gas sector, it is mainly active in the generation, distribution and supply of electricity.

EMS is active in the distribution and retail supply of electricity in the south of Romania.

Enel announce in June that it would pay 820 million euros for a 67.5 percent stake in EMS, which owns and operates the electricity distribution grid of Bucharest and has a customer base of around 1. 1 million with a network spanning over 45,000 km.