EU to probe Universal's $775 million acquisition of Downtown Music, FT reports

(Reuters) -The European Commission is set to investigate Universal Music Group's planned $775 million acquisition of independent music services company Downtown Music amid claims the deal will give too much power to the industry's largest player, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

Brussels will announce the probe into the deal on Friday, the newspaper said, citing officials briefed on the preparations.

New York-based Downtown was founded in 2007 as a music publishing company. It works with entrepreneurs, songwriters, rights holders and artists — collectively serving over 5,000 business clients and more than four million creators across 145 countries.

Virgin Music Group, an unit of UMG, in December proposed to acquire Downtown Music in an all-cash deal.

UMG, the world's leading music label which represents popular artists such as Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish, told FT that it would continue to co-operate with the commission  and was confident that it would close the deal on its original timeline.

Virgin Music Group and Downtown Music would merge after the deal closes, expected in the second half of 2025.

The Commission, UMG and Downtown Music did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment on the FT report late on Thursday.

(Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Shailesh Kuber)