Universal has said that it would make EUR500m worth of divestments in EMI as part of its purchase, however IMPALA has said that even if this amount increases, a merger of the two music groups would not be accepted.
The major is already under investigation by the European Commission over its tie-up with Live Nation and IMPALA added it wasn't the first time had run foul of the regulatory body - pointing to its purchase of BMG in 2006 when the major was forced to break up the publishing company in order to assimilate it into its business, as an example.
IMPALA executive chair Helen Smith, said considering Universal's history with Brussels, the body was expecting the sale to be blocked outright. "The same would apply to Sony if it buys EMI publishing. IMPALA will be discussing this in detail at its next board meeting in ten day's time."
The company said that arguments about the current state of the music market would be unlikely to convince regulators they should change their approach - since it feels that the impact of the major is one of the causes of market decline.
In music, over 80% of all new releases are produced by the independents, or SMEs as they are referred to by policymakers. IMPALA is concerned that more time will be lost when the sector should be working together on other issues. IMPALA expresses regret that EMI will continue to languish and urges the regulators to act quickly to reduce the impact on EMI's artists.
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