W hen European regulators last week cleared the €2.9bn ($4.5bn, £2.3bn) purchase of TeleAtlas, a digital mapping company, by TomTom, the maker of navigation devices, they were giving a nudge along to one of the hottest business fads on the internet.
Approval for that deal makes it almost certain that a bigger transaction will also get the nod: Nokia's proposed $8.1bn purchase of Navteq, the largest acquisition undertaken by the mobile handset maker.
