EU to Open Inquiry on Time Warner-EMI Joint Venture

The European Commission next week will open a four-month extended probe of the planned joint venture between Time Warner’s music operations and EMI Group, a source close to the case said Thursday.

Under the European Union’s merger rules, the commission must decide by Wednesday whether to clear the deal or open a second-stage in-depth investigation of the competition aspects of the venture.

The source said EMI and Warner Music had not offered any concessions to address potential competition concerns, making an extended investigation necessary.

EMI said Thursday it was confident of winning EU approval.

The company said in a statement it had had a “series of friendly and constructive discussions with the commission on the proposed joint venture” and the talks had continued past the commission’s deadline for offering concessions.

“At that time the commission had not identified any issues that would have caused EMI and Time Warner to consider offering concessions. Our discussions are continuing and we are confident that the merger will be approved,” it said.

The commission has received many complaints about the new group’s potential strength, particularly in music publishing. The companies themselves have calculated they will have about 25% of the world recorded music market.