(Adds details of deal)
BRUSSELS, Oct 3 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators approvedU.S. drugmaker Eli Lilly's $5.4 billion takeover ofSwiss peer Novartis's animal health business onFriday.
The European Commission said it was satisfied that the dealwould not hinder competition and cleared it unconditionally.
The bid will allow Lilly to strengthen and diversify itsElanco unit and is one of several announced in the healthcaresector in recent months as firms seek to gain scale orspecialise in certain disease areas.
The Commission said the takeover would create overlapsbetween the activities of the two drugmakers in the markets forparasiticides and antimicrobials.
But it concluded that more competitors could enter themarket in the coming years and keep prices in check.
Novartis separately agreed in April to buy GlaxoSmithKline's oncology products for $14.5 billion and sell its vaccinebusiness to the British drugmaker for $7.1 billion. (Reporting by Julia Fioretti; Editing by David Holmes)