The Competition Authority has today published a decision No. 34/2013, The acquisition by 365 Media Ltd. of the assets of D3 Media Ltd. relating to the website Tónlist.is. The decision concerns the acquisition by 365 Media of the assets of D3 Media, namely those assets relating to the website Tónlist.is. 365 Media is one of the country's largest media companies. Tónlist.is is an online music service operating in the market for the sale and streaming of music over the internet in digital format. Tónlist.is was previously owned by D3 Miðlar, a subsidiary of Sena ehf. Sena is one of the country's largest entertainment companies, handling, among other things, the wholesale of films, music and video games. The Competition Authority does not consider there to be any grounds for intervention in the matter.
The acquisition of 365 Media by Tónlist.is constitutes a merger within the meaning of competition law, as well as under the new provisions of the Media Act concerning mergers involving media companies. Under these provisions, the Competition Authority is required to assess the impact of mergers on plurality and diversity in the media, in cases where at least one media provider is a party. This assessment is in addition to the Competition Authority's standard merger review in cases where the turnover thresholds of both pieces of legislation are met. During its investigation, the Competition Authority gathered information and views from the merging parties, their competitors, and the Media Commission regarding the merger. The Competition Authority concluded in the case that the merger would not have a detrimental effect on competition, or on pluralism and diversity in the media. The conclusion is based, among other things, on the fact that Tónlist.is's position in the market in which it operates has been significantly weakened by the arrival of new competitors, such as Spotify, and the fact that the music content rights of D3 Miðlar and Senan are not included in the acquisition.
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