The European Union's antitrust body has cleared a 1.74 billion pound ($2.7 billion) takeover of a British rail technology company by German industrial conglomerate Siemens.

The European Commission, which acts as the 27-nation bloc's , said Siemens AG's takeover of Invensys PLC's rail division does not violate since the merged entity will continue to face strong competitors.

Siemens in November said the acquisition of Invensys Rail, which specializes in railway signaling software and technology, will strengthen its own automation unit based in Berlin.

The Munich-based company said Invensys Rail has about has around 3,200 employees and annual revenues of 775 million pounds.