“The Commission considers that the transaction may have a significant adverse effect on competition in the European Economic Area. The Commission has also concluded that it is the best placed authority to deal with the potential cross-border effects of the transaction,” it said. The EC did not provide additional details at this stage about how the deal could hurt competition, but this may be a routine review from the regulatory body.
Apple announced its intent to acquire Shazam in December 2017. Estimates pegged the purchase cost at about $400 million, significantly below Shazam’s 2015 valuation of $1 billion.