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EU: EC set to rule on the Sony/ATV deal in August

By  |  June 28, 2016

The EU will decide within the next month how to proceed with Sony’s request to take over the other half of the world’s largest publishing catalog.

Sony/ATV Music’s rivals have aired concerns with European regulators about the publishing giant’s move to acquire the Michael Jackson estate’s portion of the joint venture.

EU antitrust officials have a provisional deadline of Aug. 1 to decide whether to let Sony buy out Jackson’s 50 percent stake in the company, which owns the publishing rights of most Beatles songs, as well as music by Taylor Swift, Whitney Houston and others.

Reuters is reporting that both Warner Music Group and indie label trade group IMPALA have logged concerns with the commission, arguing that the buyout would make Sony/ATV too powerful in the publishing world. The EU’s top competition enforcer, Margrethe Vestager, can either approve the deal or call for concessions.

Full Content: Billboard

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