WASHINGTON (Bloomberg) ? Intelsat Ltd., the world?s second- biggest satellite operator, won US Justice Department clearance to buy PanAmSat Holding Corp. for $3.2 billion.

The transaction remains under review by the US Federal Communications Commission, Bermuda-based Intelsat said on Friday in a statement.

?Our application at the FCC is unopposed,? Phillip Spector, an Intelsat lawyer, said in a telephone interview. ?We think they will make their decision quite quickly. It?ll be, I hope, within a matter of weeks,? he said.

Intelsat is buying PanAmSat, the biggest distributor of television channels over satellite, to add 24 satellites and pass SES Global SA as the world?s largest commercial-satellite operator. The Justice Department approval keeps Intelsat on schedule to complete the acquisition in the second or third quarter as planned.

?In the end they concluded there were no competitive concerns and we did not have to divest or sell anything,? Spector said of the Justice Department?s review.

The cash purchase will increase Intelsat?s number of satellites to 51 from 27 and enable it to provide coverage in more than 220 countries to customers including Time Warner Inc., DirecTV Group Inc., Viacom Inc. and the US government. By comparison, SES Global operates 35 satellites.

PanAmSat Chief Executive Officer Joseph Wright will be chairman of the combined company, while Intelsat CEO David McGlade, 45, will remain in that post. Intelsat, which is closely held, agreed in August to pay $25 a share for PanAmSat, based in Wilton, Connecticut.

PanAmSat shares rose 18 cents to $25.18 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.