European Commission to examine Apple’s proposed $400m buy-out of British tech company Shazam

The European Commission plans to investigate Apple’s proposed acquisition of British music identification app Shazam.

The buy-out was announced last December for US$400 million.

The EU said it was making inquiries after requests from a number of countries including Austria, France, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden.

The EU will determine the detriment effect the Shazam bid could "significantly affect competition in the single market, and if it complies with the standards set by the EU Merger Regulation for companies acquiring smaller firms within the region.

It said, "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."

Usually a $400 million price tag is no enough to warrant such an inquiry.

But the EU has been concerned not just about revenue and market share affected by mergers, but also when tech hands change hands.

In any case, concern that the Shazam buy is a way for Apple to take the thunder from market leader Spotify, which of course is based in Europe.

The announcement of the EU inquiry comes the same week that it transpired that Apple Music is fast catching up and set to overtake in subscriber figures.

This is only in America but it must be a worry in the EU as Apple has not divulged its plans for Shazam.

All it said, via a statement last December was, “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.”