Mergers: Commission to assess the acquisition of Shazam by Apple

Apple’s proposed acquisition of Shazam does not meet the turnover thresholds set by the EU Merger Regulation for mergers that must be notified to the European Commission because they have an EU dimension. It was notified by Apple for regulatory clearance in Austria, where the transaction meets the national merger notification threshold.

Austria submitted a referral request to the Commission pursuant to Article 22(1) of the EU Merger Regulation. This provision allows Member States to request that the Commission examine a merger that does not have an EU dimension but affects trade within the Single Market and threatens to significantly affect competition within the territory of the Member States making the request. Subsequently Iceland, Italy, France, Norway, Spain and Sweden joined the request.

On the basis of the elements submitted by Austria and the countries joining the referral request, and without prejudice to the outcome of its full investigation, the Commission considers that the transaction may have a significant adverse effect on competition in the European Economic Area. The Commission has also concluded that it is the best placed authority to deal with the potential cross-border effects of the transaction.

The Commission will now ask Apple to notify the transaction.

Background

Apple is a US based global technology company which designs, manufactures and sells mobile communication, media devices, portable digital music players and personal computers. It also sells and delivers digital content online through the ”iTunes Store”, the ”App Store”, ”iBookstore” as well as ”Mac App Store”, and offers the music and video streaming service ”Apple Music”.

Shazam is a UK based developer and distributor of music recognition applications for smartphones, tablets and PCs.

More information on the transaction will be available on the Commission’s competitionwebsite, in the public case register under the case number M.8788.