Sony-BMG to get EU's nod

No conditions expected on 50/50 merger

By MEREDITH AMDUR

Sony Music's merger with Bertelsmann's BMG looked set to get the official thumbs-up from Brussels late Thursday after a string of press leaks suggested officials are comfortable that the combo won't impede competition or hurt consumers.

Sources indicated the competition commission is likely to approve the deal as early as today and without putting conditions on the 50/50 merger.

An internal EU panel reportedly refuted claims that the merger would inflate CD prices for consumers, concluding the economic measurement technique was not conclusive.

Four years ago, the EU snubbed a tie-up between Warner Music and EMI on grounds the deal would be anticompetitive. But that was before piracy and new technology started taking a painful toll on the market for CD sales. Sony and BMG maintain the new market environment made a cost-saving deal essential to maintaining the level of investment in new artists.