The European Commission (EC) announced it will scrutinise an Apple move to acquire music app Shazam, amid concerns the deal will adversely affect competition in the European Economic Area (EEA).

While the proposed transaction does not meet the turnover thresholds set by EU Merger Regulation, meaning the companies are not required to notify the EC about the deal, the commission said in a statement it is taking action following receipt of referral requests from seven countries within the EEA.

EU Merger Regulation allows member states to request an investigation of deals which do “not have an EU dimension”, but affect trade within the “Single Market and threatens to signficantly affect competition”, the EC explained. Austria submitted the request and was then joined by France, Spain, Italy, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

The commission said it is “the best placed authority to deal with the potential cross-border effects of the transaction”.

Apple lined up the acquisition in a bid to bolster its music streaming proposition and step up competition with major rivals Spotify and Google.

While Apple did not reveal financial terms of the deal, the price tag is reported to be $400 million, which would make Shazam the company’s largest acquisition since it bought headphone maker Beats Electronics for $3 billion in 2014.

It also represents a sharp cut on a $1 billion valuation Shazam hit in 2015 after its last funding round.

A report by The Wall Street Journal recently revealed Apple Music could soon overtake Spotify in the US in terms of paying subscribers.