EC decision on Sony BMG merger just months away.(News)

Impala is expecting to hear before Christmas whether the EC will be forced to reassess its Sony BMG merger decision following last Thursday's appeal in the Court of First Instance.

With the case fast-tracked, Brussels insiders are suggesting the Luxembourg judges will be more likely to deliver their verdict quicker than the normal time-frame of between three and six months.

Impala's team, including deputy secretary general Helen Smith, Naive president and Impala vice chairman Patrick Zelnick and their Brussels lawyers Crosby Renouf, went into the one-day hearing last week optimistic they could effect at least a part reversal of the decision, made in the case Comp/M3333, because of the changes which have taken place in the market since the merger was green lighted in July 2004. It was also able to draw on evidence produced by the Commission, which had not been previously available. Executives and lawyers representing Sony Corp, Bertelsmann and Sony BMG were also in attendance at the court, which was presided over by three judges.

Smith says, "If anything, we feel in a stronger position now than before the EC decision because we have had the opportunity to look at the evidence on which the Commission based its decision."

Brussels lobbyists and others also believe developments in ...