International news agency Reuters and Canadian publisher Thomson have said this morning that they are confident the proposed merger of the two companies will be given the green light by competition authorities in the second quarter of this year.

In a regulatory update this morning, the two companies said they had held “productive discussions” with both the US Department of Justice and the European Commission, which are both carrying out reviews into the impact of the proposed tie-up.

Thomson and Reuters have agreed with the Department of Justice for its review to be more closely aligned with that being carried by the EC. As a result, the results of both investigations are expected at approximately the same time.