BERLIN — The European Union has approved the merger of Sony Music and Bertelsmann AG's BMG unit in a deal that gives the four "majors" control of about 80 percent of the world music market, a Bertelsmann spokesman said Monday.
"The merger was approved without conditions," spokesman Oliver Herrgesell said in a telephone interview.
The EU's executive body, the European Commission, had been widely expected to endorse the decision of Mario Monti, the EU's competition commissioner, to approve the merger.
Monti reversed his merger team's initial objections to the deal after two days of closed-door hearings in June with the companies and third parties, including independent labels and companies involved in the emerging legal market for online music downloading.
Bertelsmann said it is now looking forward to concentrating on the integration of the two companies.
"The joint venture will create a recorded music business better able to serve artists and consumers in this rapidly changing marketplace," Bertelsmann chief executive Gunter Thielen said.
The deal leaves 80 percent of the market in the hands of four groups: Sony-BMG, Vivendi Universal, EMI and Warner Music. Sony-BMG and Vivendi Universal control about a quarter each.
In the United States, Sony-BMG and Vivendi Universal were in a dead heat for dominance in the album industry in 2003 with the former holding 31 percent of the market and the latter controlling 30 percent, according to Nielsen SoundScan, which tracks music sales. However, Sony-BMG has pulled ahead this year, with the two companies having a combined market share of 32 percent compared with Universal's 29 percent share.
Herrgesell would not provide any further details of the EU approval.
A source close to Sony confirmed that the deal had been approved by the commission, a day earlier than anticipated.
The 50-50 joint venture is still undergoing antitrust review in the United States, and approval is expected within days.
"BMG and Sony are now working closely with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and are optimistic that final action will be forthcoming in the very near future," Bertelsmann said.
The Financial Times reported last week that the two companies plan to cut about 2,000 jobs, or a quarter of their combined work force, to achieve a hoped-for $300 million in annual savings.
The EU initially said the deal could lead to higher CD prices, fewer choices for consumers and stifle the development of legal online music downloading. But it concluded after internal review that it did not have "sufficient evidence" of collusion or future harm to consumers.
Independent music companies have lobbied against approval of the deal and threatened legal action to overturn the decision.
Impala, an umbrella group for more than 2,000 independent labels, said the merger would further reduce small companies' ability to give artists sufficient exposure.