The European Commission may yet approve a General Electric and Honeywell merger as rivals re-evaluate their opposition to it with the prospect of profiting from the disposal programme, according to sources close to the deal.

Several of GE and Honeywell's competitors submitted detailed opposition to the companies' proposed merger during the European Competition Commission's initial enquiries into the tie-up earlier this year. However, some of them are now more concerned about missing out on the opportunity to buy a significant amount of engineering assets, according to sources close to the merger review process.