SONY Sony Group Corporation

By Adam Clark

The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority said Thursday that it will launch an in-depth investigation into Sony Group Corp.'s acquisition of music distributor AWAL.

The CMA said earlier in September that its Phase 1 investigation found that, if the deal hadn't gone ahead, Sony and AWAL could have competed more strongly against each other in the future, benefiting artists in their deals with distributors.

On Thursday, it said that Sony had decided not to offer any undertakings to the CMA in respect to its competition concerns so it will launch a Phase 2 investigation.

The Japanese entertainment and electronics company agreed to buy AWAL, Kobalt Music Group Ltd.'s business that distributes independent recording artists' music and manages rights, in February for $430 million.

Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 16, 2021 07:35 ET (11:35 GMT)

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