BRUSSELS, Belgium (CelebrityAccess) — Apple is reportedly on track to win unconditional approval from EU antitrust regulators in its planned of British music discovery app Shazam.
According to CNBC, news of the likely approval was reported by two people familiar with the matter, but who declined to be named for the story.
The deal to acquire Shazam, first announced last September, is one of Apple’s larger acquisitions, worth a reported 400 million. However, The European Commission launched a full-scale investigation into the proposed acquisition in April over concerns that it might provide Apple with an unfair advantage over its rivals.
The EU Commission also expressed concerns also about Apple possibly halting referrals from Shazam to rivals of Apple Music.
Shazam represents a veritable treasure trove of user data on music discovery. The service allows smartphone users to identify music being played in the environment and provides links to downloads or streams of the song.
The EU executive is scheduled to decide on the deal by Sept. 18. Both Apple and Commission’s competition spokesman Ricardo Cardoso declined to comment to CNBC on the story.
