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UMG-Downtown deal poses tricky question for EU watchdog; clock is ticking

By Andrew Boyce ( October 28, 2025, 16:33 GMT | Comment) -- Universal Music Group’s takeover of Downtown Music will be causing an increasing headache for EU merger regulators. They need urgency, as they have less than a month to decide whether to either pursue their objections to the deal or drop them. They also face a quandary in choosing their path, as anything other than a block risks litigation from ultra-complainant music companies' association Impala.Universal Music Group’s takeover of Downtown Music presents a tough choice for EU competition enforcers: Can they conditionally clear the deal in a way that averts litigation from ultra-complainant Impala, which is implacably opposed to the deal?...

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