The EU Commission clears a merger after an investigation into the potential anti-competitive effects resulting from a major data transfer in the digital music streaming sector (Apple / Shazam)

The European Commission has unconditionally cleared Apple’s EUR 400 million purchase of Shazam. Following an in-depth phase II investigation into the possible anti-competitive effects resulting from Apple getting access to Shazam’s data set, the Commission concluded that the proposed merged entity would not be able to restrict competition in the digital music streaming market. The Commission’s decision highlights once more the relevance of data for its analysis under the EU Merger Regulation.