Goods confirmed that regulatory approvals have been secured, further clearing the way for the merger. The waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Antitrust Improvements Act expired without objection Monday night, signaling that the Federal Trade Commission will not challenge the deal on antitrust grounds.

This outcome comes despite pushback from lawmakers including U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who earlier this month urged regulators to examine the merger more closely.

The senator said the $2.4 billion transaction, announced in May, would “decrease competition in the retail athletic footwear markets, cut jobs, raise prices, and leave Americans to foot the bill.” Creating a $21 Billion Retail Powerhouse Once finalized, the merger will combine Foot Locker’s fleet of roughly 2,400 stores with Dick’s Sporting Goods’ 800-store footprint, resulting in a $21 billion entity.

Despite the merger, Foot Locker will remain a stand-alone business, operating under its own branding. However, both companies expect to benefit from shared resources, stronger bargaining power with vendors, and access to each other’s customer base. In particular, combining operations gives the retailers a…