EU antitrust regulators to decide on Apple, Shazam deal by April 23

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust authorities will decide by April 23 whether to clear iPhone maker Apple’s buy of British music discovery app Shazam, the European Commission said on Thursday.

Apple sought EU approval for the deal on Wednesday, according to a filing on the EU competition agency’s website. The move had been expected after seven European countries including France, Italy and Spain asked the Commission to take charge of the case.

The Commission, which has previously expressed concerns about big companies acquiring small but data-rich rivals, can clear the deal with or without conditions or open a four-month long investigation.

Shazam, a U.K.-based app that lets users identify songs by pointing a smart phone at the audio source, would fit in with Apple’s music streaming service which competes against Spotify.