The US chip giant announced the sale last October, part of a move to divest non-core businesses to focus on its smaller but more lucrative Optane memory business which uses more advanced technology.

The deal is SK Hynix's most significant acquisition, which will close the gap with market leader Samsung Electronics. NAND chips are used to store data in smartphones and data centre servers.

SK Hynix sought EU antitrust approval on April 13. The EU competition enforcer can clear the deal with or without concessions, or it can open a four month long investigation if it has serious concerns.

The US Committee on Foreign Investment cleared the deal last month, while the US Federal Trade Commission gave the green light last year.