The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation into the merger between the recorded music businesses of Bertelsmann AG (BMG) and Sony Corp. A 2004 Commission decision to approve the Sony-BMG merger was annulled by the European Court of First Instance in 2006 for lack of sufficient evidence. The Commission is reassessing the transaction under the terms of the Merger Regulation that was applicable to transactions before 1 May 2004. The territorial scope of the assessment is limited to the 15 pre-enlargement countries of the European Union. The transaction will be evaluated in the light of current market conditions, including the increased sales of online music. The Commission has until 2 July 2007 to reach a final decision on whether to approve the merger.