Federal antitrust regulators say they have cleared Wells Fargo's $11.7 billion acquisition of troubled bank Wachovia Corp.

The rapid approval comes a day after Citigroup Inc. walked away from its own efforts to buy Charlotte, North Carolina-based Wachovia.

Wells Fargo & Co. said Thursday that it would proceed with the purchase.

The Federal Trade Commission included the deal on a list of transactions released Friday that received an "early termination" of their antitrust reviews.

Early termination refers to the completion of a review by the FTC or Justice Department before the end of a 30-day period required under antitrust law.