The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said on Wednesday that it approved Medtronic's 43 billion dollar acquisition of Covidien after the medical device maker agreed to sell a business that makes a type of catheter used in veins.

The FTC clearance follows Covidien's and Medtronic's agreement to a proposed consent order, which includes a commitment to divest certain assets related to Covidien's drug-coated balloon catheter product.

A subsidiary of Covidien has already entered into an agreement to divest those assets to The Spectranetics Corp. and the divestiture is expected to close shortly following completion of Medtronic's acquisition of Covidien.

Covidien and Medtronic also entered into a parallel consent agreement regarding the divestiture of assets related to Covidien's drug-coated balloon catheter product with the Canadian Competition Bureau, which also announced its clearance of the deal on Wednesday.

Medtronic expects the deal to close in early 2015. It still needs to be cleared by regulators and authorization from Ireland, where Covidien is based. Both companies' shareholders also need to approve the acquisition.