European Commission to Decide on Apple, Shazam Deal by April 23

The European Commission today announced that it would decide by April 23 if it will allow Apple to acquire the British music identification app Shazam.

A filing on the EU competition agency’s website shows that Apple sought EU approval for the deal on Wednesday, reads a new report from Reuters.

This move was expected as requests for a review by several European countries – including Austria, France, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden – have been filed. The governments have expressed concerns about the potential negative impact on competition.

“The Commission, which has previously expressed concerns about big companies acquiring small but data-rich rivals, can clear the deal with or without conditions or open a four-month long investigation,” reads the report.

While the European Commission did not explain in detail how the potential deal could indeed affect competition negatively, Shazam does have partnerships with several European companies, such as Spotify.

Despite this possibility, major acquisitions such as these are generally subject to such scrutiny, so Apple’s acquisition is likely to be approved without too much trouble.

Apple announced its plans to acquire Shazam in January with the following statement:

We are thrilled that Shazam and its talented team will be joining Apple. Since the launch of the App Store, Shazam has consistently ranked as one of the most popular apps for iOS. Today, it’s used by hundreds of millions of people around the world, across multiple platforms. Apple Music and Shazam are a natural fit, sharing a passion for music discovery and delivering great music experiences to our users. We have exciting plans in store, and we look forward to combining with Shazam upon approval of today’s agreement.

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