EU to Probe Apple's Acquisition of Song-Recognition App Shazam
February 06 2018 - 12:49PM
Dow Jones News
By Natalia Drozdiak
BRUSSELS -- Apple Inc.'s acquisition of the popular
song-recognition app Shazam Entertainment Ltd. may adversely impact
competition in Europe, European Union antitrust authorities said
Tuesday, announcing they would take over the merger review from
national regulators in Austria.
The move fits with a broader strategy by the EU to more closely
scrutinize mergers involving data-rich companies, but whose revenue
falls below traditional thresholds that determine whether a deal
merits a review by EU authorities.
Apple initially registered the deal with regulators in Austria,
but the EU said it had concluded that regulators in Brussels were
"the best placed authority to deal with the potential cross-border
effects of the transaction."
Austria, France, Italy, Sweden and several other EU countries
asked Brussels to take over the review on concerns the deal could
harm competition in their member states as well as impact trade
within the European market.
Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 06, 2018 12:34 ET (17:34 GMT)
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