Statement Of Unresolved Issues Released For AlphaTheta’s Proposed Acquisition Of Serato

The Commerce Commission has published a Statement of Unresolved Issues on AlphaTheta’s application for clearance to acquire Serato.

The Statement of Unresolved Issues outlines the Commission’s provisional competition concerns with the proposed acquisition. The Statement of Unresolved Issues is not a final decision and does not mean that the Commission intends to decline or clear the merger.

The Commission is seeking submissions from AlphaTheta, Serato and other interested parties on the issues raised in the Statement of Unresolved Issues.

The Statement of Unresolved Issues can be found on the case register.

Submissions can be sent by email to registrar@comcom.govt.nz with the reference “AlphaTheta/Serato” in the subject line.

Submissions are due by close of business on 13 June 2024, with cross-submissions due by close of business on 20 June 2024.

The Commission is currently scheduled to make a decision on the application by 27 June 2024. However, this date may be extended.

Background

AlphaTheta and Serato are both active in the DJ segment of the music industry. AlphaTheta supplies DJ hardware under the Pioneer DJ brand and DJ software under the rekordbox brand, and Serato supplies DJ software. Serato’s DJ software is currently integrated with many brands of DJ hardware, including Pioneer DJ.

We will give clearance to a proposed merger if we are satisfied that the merger is unlikely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in a market.

Further information explaining how the Commission assesses a merger application is available on our website.

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