Reuters and Thomson announced in a joint statement Monday that their US$17 billion merger deal should receive regulatory clearance early in Q2 this year, a slight delay from the planned mid-of-Q1 clearance.

The U.S. Department of Justice had agreed to give its decision on the deal “on or about the date” that the European Commission makes its decision, to align the clearances, which is by March 10, the two groups said.

Although ABN Amro analysts were optimistic about the deal winning regulatory approval, they questioned why investors would want to be bullish on Thomson-Reuters.

“Nearly all of Reuters' revenue and 60 percent of Thomson-Reuters' revenue derive from the market data industry. The revenue model has moved away from a simple 'bums on seats' subscription model, but Reuters' destiny is nevertheless closely tied to the fortunes of the banking industry,” paidContent reported.