German regulator approves Kaufhof-Karstadt merger

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's antitrust regulator on Friday approved the planned merger of department store chains Kaufhof and Karstadt, owned by Canada's Hudson's Bay Co (HBC) and Austria's Signa Holding.The deal will create a group with 243 department stores in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands and annual sales of 5.4 billion euros ($6.13 billion). What will become Europe's third biggest department store chain faces stiff competition from e-commerce players such as Amazon and online..