The European Union on Monday approved the merger of Sony Music and Bertelsmann AG's BMG unit

The European Union on Monday approved the merger of Sony Music and Bertelsmann AG's BMG unit in a deal that gives the four "majors" control of about 80 percent of the world music market, Bertelsmann said. The EU's executive body, the European Commission, had been widely expected to endorse the decision of Mario Monti, the EU's competition commissioner, to approve the merger. "The merger was approved without conditions," Bertelsmann spokesman Oliver Herrgesell said in a telephone interview. Monti reversed his merger team's initial objections to the deal after two days of closed-door hearings in June with the companies and third parties, including independent labels and companies involved in the emerging legal market for online music downloading. Bertelsmann said it is now looking forward to concentrating on the integration of the two companies.