European independent labels body Impala will lodge its appeal to the Sony BMG merger tomorrow (Dec. 3) before the court of First Instance in Luxemburg, Billboard.biz has learned.
The trade group is expected to ask for expedited proceedings, which could mean a decision as soon as nine months.
Impala declared its plan to appeal the European Commission’s decision to authorize the union on Nov. 3. Under European Union rules, an appeal on an EC decision can be filed within two months and two weeks from the date of notification of the ruling. The EC authorized the merger July 19; Impala was notified Sept. 23. Since then, Sony and BMG have begun to integrate their operations.
Representatives of Impala could not be reached for comment at deadline.
