The merger of Saks and Neiman Marcus appears to have been approved by the U.S. Department of Justice, as the review period has expired and no objections to the deal have been raised, according to sources familiar with the situation.

HBC, Saks’ parent company, declined to comment.

The government is currently reviewing the $2.6 billion purchase agreement for the Neiman Marcus Group announced by HBC on July 5. “The deadline for review has passed,” said a source who asked not to be identified. “At this point, there are no objections to the completion of the transaction.”

After HBC announced the deal, the retailer made a presentation on July 19 to the Federal Trade Commission, which was tasked with examining potential anti-competitive measures. After that, either the FTC or the Justice Department will have 30 days to request a second round of information. That deadline expired at midnight Monday, according to a source.

Since neither the FTC nor the Justice Department requested additional information from HBC, the deal is effectively a done deal. It’s not clear whether the government notified HBC to close the deal or whether it simply let the 30-day deadline pass without any communication. “HBC hasn’t gotten anything,” the source said, explaining that the government wouldn’t necessarily say whether the deal will move forward.

It’s also unclear when the deal might close. Based on the $6 billion purchase price in 2013 and recent speculation that the price for Neiman’s would exceed $3 billion, it seems Saks is getting a good deal at the $2.65 billion price tag.

The government may have been concerned that HBC would raise prices, close stores, lay off employees and increase pressure on suppliers. Recent history shows that these federal agencies have challenged transactions with big-name companies in other industries, such as Microsoft, Meta, American Airlines and JetBlue, as well as in the fashion and retail sectors. For example, the FTC blocked Tapestry Inc.’s $8.5 billion deal to acquire Capri Holdings – which would create a giant handbag maker with Tapestry’s Coach and Kate Spade and Capri’s Michael Kors. The FTC argued that if the deal went through, consumers would lose the benefits of direct competition in pricing, discounts and special offers, innovation, design and marketing. Sources say there was a lot of back and forth between the government and Tapestry.

Most industry experts speculated that the Saks-Neiman’s deal came about because the luxury market in the U.S. has grown and is much more competitive, with designers running their own stores and websites and selling their products to a growing number of independent fashion websites. Designers and sellers have become less dependent on distributing their products to Saks or Neiman’s.

Some experts thought it was possible that the government could have required HBC to sell certain locations in markets or malls shared by Saks and Neiman’s, but that does not appear to have happened.

“There were no objections” from the government, the source said.

HBC has scheduled a podcast for Wednesday between Richard Baker, HBC’s executive chairman and CEO, and Marc Metrick, CEO of Saks Global, to report on updates on the business. Saks Global is the combination of luxury-focused retail and real estate companies, including Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks Off 5th, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, all of which will continue to operate under their respective brands. Baker is also executive chairman of Saks Global. Saks Global generates $10 billion in revenue, with Saks generating about $6 billion and Neiman generating $4 billion.