UK antitrust watchdog, the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA), has cleared US toy giant Hasbro’s $3.8bn buyout of Entertainment One.
The acquisition of eOne – home to records/management/publishing outfit, eOne Music – was officially confirmed on December 30, with classic albums by the likes of Snoop Dogg, Tupac (pictured) and Chuck Berry now under a new roof.
Entertainment One Ltd is a registered company in the United Kingdom.
The CMA announced on November 21 that it was inviting comments from interested parties (including rival companies) to determine whether the deal warranted a full scale review.
At the time, the CMA issued a statement, which said: “The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is considering whether it is or may be the case that this transaction, if carried into effect, will result in the creation of a relevant merger situation under the merger provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002 and, if so, whether the creation of that situation may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services.”
That statement has now been updated, with the CMA writing on January 16 that it has “cleared the anticipated acquisition by Hasbro Inc. of Entertainment One Ltd” and that “the full text of the Decision will be available shortly”.
eOne’s music assets include Death Row Records, home to recordings from the likes of Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Tupac Shakur (pictured).
It also owns the likes of Dualtone Music Group (home to The Lumineers’ catalog) and Last Gang Entertainment, in addition to controlling catalog recordings from Brandy, Wu Tang Clan, Chuck Berry and more.
eOne Music also acquired UK-based production music house, Audio Network, for approximately $215m in April last year.Music Business Worldwide
