European antitrust regulators on Wednesday cleared a €2.9bn ($4.5bn) merger between TomTom, the world’s biggest manufacturer of car navigation devices, and TeleAtlas, which provides navigable digital maps.

Lawyers said the decision, and the reasoning provided, improved the chances that a larger $8.1bn deal between Nokia and Navteq – which is also under investigation by Brussels – would also surmount regulatory hurdles.