Merger of Nestlé and Dreyer's Gains F.T.C. Support

The Federal Trade Commission said yesterday that it would allow Nestlé to proceed with the $2.8 billion merger of its United States ice cream business with Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream.

The decision came a year after Nestlé and Dreyer's first announced their merger intentions. Together the companies would have controlled about 60 percent of the American ice cream market. Nestlé, which has made several acquisitions in the ice cream business in recent years, wanted to acquire Dreyer's to become a more formidable competitor against Unilever, which markets the Ben & Jerry's brand.

Officials at both Nestlé and Dreyer's said they expected the merger to be completed after the close of trading today. The new company will be called Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream Holdings and will be based in Oakland, Calif., the site of Dreyer's current headquarters. Analysts said Nestlé and Dreyer's had retained their most valuable brands and would be on equal footing in a battle for market share with Unilever.

''We are extremely pleased that the F.T.C. cleared the transaction,'' said Laurie MacDonald, a spokeswoman at Nestlé USA. Ms. MacDonald said that because the deal was an all-stock transaction, she did not know the current value of the merger.

In recent years, the F.T.C. has sought to block several deals in the food and beverage sector because of antitrust concerns. The commission has challenged mergers of companies in the baby food, pickle, cat food and rum businesses. But analysts said they were surprised that the F.T.C. had taken so long to approve the ice cream merger.