EU approves Apple's $ 3 billion acquisition of Beats

Regulators say that this takeover will not entail restrictions on free competition, since the joint market share will remain low.

From left to right: Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine, Apple CEO Tim Cook, co-founder of Beats Dr. Dre, Apple Senior Vice President Eddy Cue.

Apple and Beats are one step closer to completing the deal, after which Beats headphones and music service will become part of the tech giant.

On Monday [the original article was published on July 28, 2014 - approx. translator ] European Commission announces approvalApple's plans to acquire Beats Electronics for $ 3 billion. The Commission checks such transactions and monitors continued competition in the market on behalf of the European Union. According to her statement, the takeover will not entail “no restrictions on freedom of competition, since the joint share of companies in the audio market will remain low.”

Apple announced its intention to buy Beats back in May. The purchase will take place in several stages: 2.6 billion dollars will be paid immediately, and 400 million will be transferred over time. Beats was founded by the famous rapper Dr. Dre and music producer Jimmy Iovine (Jimmy Iovine), and its wide popularity is due to the headphones , which have become iconic for pop culture. In addition, the company launched a music service with a subscription, which attracted the attention of Apple CEO Tim Cook.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Cook admitted: “We really like the Beats subscription service.”

Apple said it hopes to complete the deal by the end of its fiscal year in September. As with any major merger, Apple must first send a request and receive confirmation from global regulators. The European Commission, as a rule, makes decisions relatively quickly . Apple is still waiting for a response from US regulators.

To reinforce its permission to merge, the European Commission emphasized that Apple and Beats will face several competitors in the headphone market, including companies such as Bose and Sony.

Also, regulators examined the Beats music service and again did not express any concerns about the streaming music market. According to their statement, there is no particular concern, since Beats Music is not available for use in the European Union. They also added that Apple will not be able to monopolize the market, because the Beats Music service occupies only a small share in the niche of streaming music.

According to the agency: “the commission concluded that the merger would not affect Apple’s ability and incentive to deprive competing streaming music services of access to iOS, the company's operating system for mobile devices. In particular, this conclusion was made on the basis of the fact that before the purchase of Beats, Apple was already active in the field of digital music distribution. Consequently, the takeover should not change the ability or incentive of a company to block access to its mobile operating system. ”