Universal’s $775 Million Downtown Music Bid Set for EU Probe
The Universal Music Group headquarters in Santa Monica.
Photographer: Bing Guan/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Universal Music Group’s $775 million bid for Downtown Music Holdings LLC faces an investigation by the European Union’s deals watchdog due to concerns the plan could stifle competition for services to artists signed with independent labels.
The European Commission confirmed on Friday it will open an initial probe into the tie-up, using recent powers to scrutinize relatively small deals that previously flew under its radar. It said Universal must now formally notify EU regulators of details of the transaction, being executed by its Virgin Music unit.