Justice Department approves GE/Haier deal.

The proposed $US5.4 billion ($7.3 billion) sale of General Electric’s appliance business to Haier Group has been given the go ahead from US antitrust authorities.

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“The completion of the review is an important step towards closing the transaction, which GE continues to target for mid-2016,” GE spokesman Seth Martin said.

However, the GE/Haier deal may face other US regulatory reviews and the deal must be approved by Haier shareholders.

Haier has said it would pay a break-up fee of between $US200 million ($269 million) and $US400 million ($538 million) if the deal were blocked by regulators or voted down by shareholders.