EU conditionally approves Amcor, Alcan deal

BRUSSELS, Dec 15 (Reuters) - The European Commission gave conditional approval on Tuesday for Australian packaging group Amcor to take over mining company Rio Tinto's Alcan packaging unit for about $2 billion. The European Union executive said in a statement the decision was conditional on the divestiture of the major part of Amcor's business in pharmaceutical flexible packaging. "In light of Amcor's commitments, the Commission has concluded that the proposed transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area or any substantial part of it," the Commission said. Amcor Chief Executive Ken MacKenzie is making his first big acquisition after four years of fixing, closing and selling businesses, which will make the company a leading global player in key packaging markets. World No. 2 miner Rio is selling assets to boost a balance sheet damaged by its takeover of Alcan at the peak of the commodities boom.