Mastercard hopes to finalise Nets deal by mid-year despite EU scrutiny

BRUSSELS, April 6 (Reuters) - Mastercard said on Monday that it hopes to complete its acquisition of a part of Scandinavian payments group Nets before the end of the second quarter despite scrutiny of the deal by the European Commission at the request of six countries.

The U.S. group said it disagreed with the Commission's view that the deal could have an adverse effect on competition in the UK or any EU country and has been working with the EU antitrust watchdog to expedite the merger review. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee Editing by David Goodman )