Antitrust regulators approve Tesla deal to buy SolarCity

Deal was on a fast track because the two companies had little overlapping business.

On Thursday, federal antitrust regulators from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved electric vehicle maker Tesla’s bid to buy solar panel company SolarCity for $2.6 billion in an all-stock deal. The deal was expected to be approved, and Reuters reported that regulators fast-tracked the merger, along with a number of other, lower-profile mergers in which the two companies seeking to merge did little overlapping business.

Tesla announced the merger in June, and on August 1 it proposed terms for the takeover of the solar panel company—owners of SolarCity shares will get 0.11 shares of Tesla stock for every share of SolarCity stock they own.

Tesla Solarcity

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who also serves on the SolarCity board, said he wanted to purchase the solar panel company to create an integrated solar platform in which houses could generate their own electricity.

At the beginning of August, Tesla said that combining with SolarCity would create $150 million in “cost synergies” from consolidating overlapping departments and marketing strategies.

From August 1, SolarCity was offered 45 days to find a better offer before the two companies propose their deal to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Still, with the FTC’s approval, everything looks set to move forward. Musk said earlier this month that it would be “a bit awkward” if the deal didn’t go through, asserting that merging the two companies would prevent any conflicts of interest in further business dealings.

Both Tesla and SolarCity shares were down this afternoon following the announcement.

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