(MENAFN) The European Commission's vice-president, Joaquin Almunia, announced that the commission gave its approval for the acquisition of British Emi's Parlophone by US Universal Music Group, reported Xinhua News.
Almunia, who is also the Commissioner responsible for competition said that the endorsement was provisional upon the divestment of Parlophone label and many other music assets on a global level.
He added that as the takeover would reduce the number of global "major" record firms to 3 from 4, the Commission was concerned that Universal, after acquiring EMI, would have an excessive market power over retail sellers or digital music providers.
Universal promised to divest a number of EMI's assets, including Parlophone and other labels, and a large number of local EMI entities, in order to meet EU's conditions.
It is worth noting that Universal would not include Most Favoured Nation ("MFN") clauses in its favor in any new or renegotiated agreement with digital customers in the European Economic Area (EEA) for 10 years, giving its competitors room to negotiate more freely with digital customers and cut unfair competition between the US company and its competitors.
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