Reuters: EU antitrust regulators will approve Apple-Shazam deal on September 18

The Apple and Shazam agreement may be approved unconditionally in Europe

Apple’s acquisition of the British music identification service Shazam should be approved by the European Commission antitrust regulators after all, a new report has alleged.

Reuters reported Wednesday that the watchdog will approve the deal with no conditions.

One of Shazam investors is Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim. The British startup was valued at about $1 billion after closing its last funding round in 2015. Its app is able to identify songs when your iPhone is pointed at an audio source and connected to an Internet.

Apple’s been using Shazam since iOS 8 to help Siri identify songs playing around you (“Hey Siri, what’s this song?”). Shazam also supports Apple Music and includes augmented reality features for finding content based on pictures captured with the app.

Shazam for iPhone screenshot

Apple announced in December 2017 it was acquiring Shazam for a reported $400 million.

“Apple Music and Shazam are a natural fit, sharing a passion for music discovery and delivering great music experiences to our users,” the company said at the time.

The Cupertino tech giant added it had “exciting plans in store” for the app.

In April, the European Commission began scrutinizing the proposed deal, worrying it might hurt competition. Due to EU’s ongoing investigation, the agreement has yet to be completed. A final decision on the acquisition is expected on September 18.

Assuming Reuters’ sources know what they’re talking about, EU’s unconditional approval of the agreement probably indicates it won’t be long before Apple reveals its plans for Shazam.

For the time being, the Shazam app remains on App Store.