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UMG's Downtown takeover draws formal EU charges over data concerns

By Andrew Boyce ( November 24, 2025, 10:45 GMT | Insight) -- Universal Music Group's planned $775 million acquisition of Downtown Music has received formal objections from the EU’s merger regulator, which said the deal may harm competition by allowing the world’s largest recorded music company to exploit “commercially sensitive data” on its rivals. The European Commission said its “preliminary view” that the deal may restrict competition in the market for the wholesale distribution of recorded music.Universal Music Group's planned $775 million acquisition of Downtown Music has received formal objections from the EU’s merger regulator, which said the deal may harm competition by allowing the world’s largest recorded music company to exploit “commercially sensitive data” on its rivals....

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