diff --git a/src/xkbcomp/compat.c b/src/xkbcomp/compat.c
index 26b2bb7..b8922c9 100644
--- a/src/xkbcomp/compat.c
+++ b/src/xkbcomp/compat.c
@@ -690,7 +690,7 @@ HandleInterpDef(CompatInfo *info, InterpDef *def, enum merge_mode merge)
     }
 
     si = info->default_interp;
-    si.merge = merge = (def->merge == MERGE_DEFAULT ? merge : def->merge);
+    si.merge = (def->merge == MERGE_DEFAULT ? merge : def->merge);
     si.interp.sym = def->sym;
     si.interp.match = pred;
     si.interp.mods = mods;